When Forever Ends
by Stelera Kinsman
Summary: The sequel to "All or Nothing"  Inuyasha and Deidara found their happily ever after since Itachi was defeated.  When the Uchiha returns to reclaim Dei, things begin to change.  What happens when a new rival for Inuyasha's heart shows up?  MxM multi-lemon.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

Prologue:

There was a slight drizzle to the days of late June in Feudal Japan; the kind of light precipitation that seems to persist until everything feels a little damp from the air you breathe right down to your bed sheets. Even with a roof overhead things felt humid indoors but it wasn't anything the pair curled up inside would claim to be more than a nuisance. No, they had been too busy enjoying the comfort and the joys of life together to allow something as small as clammy weather put a damper on their moods. It was on rainy days such as these that Inuyasha, a half demon with long, silver tresses and pointed dog ears, found himself enjoying the indoors with his mate. The man held close in the hanyou's arms was a peculiar sort, a tone blonde, displaced in time from the era of the ninja. The pair had met just short of a year prior through a series of battles with a rather cruel man who had once claimed the blonde, Deidara, as his own. With the ninja freed from his captor, finally things seemed to find a sense of normality, full of the sweetness of love and the spice op passion. It was days like this when the two star-crossed lovers would not leave their bed for hours after waking if not to rest, then to share the heat of desire.

With such a session winding down, a heated hanyou threw himself back into the damp sheets, his head bouncing against his pillow and his hair fanning out beneath him.

"Hot damn kid," Inuyasha chuckled as he wiped his forehead clear of the accumulated sweat. "I didn't know you could bend back like that. How long have you been able to do that?"

"What does it matter how long I've been able to bend like that un?" Deidara asked as he rolled over onto his stomach to use the half demon's chest as a pillow and look into the other man's face. His skin glowed with the moisture of fresh intimacy and his long, blonde tresses were a mess, but his crystalline eyes seemed to sparkle with satisfaction and admiration.

"Well maybe I would have wanted to know a little sooner…"

"Like when un?"

"I don't know… like when we met! Kid that was amazing." At that, a wide smile stretched across the ninja's face and with a little effort he pushed himself up and craned his neck until his lips met with those of his lover.

With strained effort the hanyou hauled his tired arms to wrap around the frame of the shinobi. With as much energy he had invested into their romance he was surprised he hadn't collapsed. Since the pair had promised to remain with each other Inuyasha had invested all of his time and strength into their lives together, providing for them and maintaining the home they had built together. With a satisfied sigh, Inuyasha separated their lips and placed another peck haphazardly onto the blonde's crown.

With a low sigh, the younger man let himself fall limp against the other man's chest, nuzzling the warm, slick skin and humming his approval. He looked almost as if he was about to drift back towards sleep and claim his mate as a pillow, but he turned his face to look at Inuyasha again.

"So give the air a test and tell me if you think the rain will be letting up anytime soon un. It'd be nice to do a little hunting but there won't be much luck if everything's hiding un." He folded his arms underneath his chin and let go of another deep breath as if waiting expectantly for a response.

Smiling lazily, the half-breed took a long inhale, breathing in the moist air and all of the fumes it carried. As by instinct he began to pick apart the scent and what each strain told him. Another wave of wet was unfortunately on its way, but with a slight let up only an hour before a few animal scents lingered around. A deer, a few hares…

His breath caught in his throat, and he quickly took another sniff. Again a sliver of familiar musk caught in his palette and his sore muscles clenched. Deidara spotted this, but questioned too late as Inuyasha sat bolt upright.

"What's wrong un."

The elder ignored the question in search of his clothes, snatching the previously discarded hakama and yanking it on.

"Hey," the blonde reached out, "Inu, what's up un?"

"Nothing. I have to check something out. Just stay here ok? I'll be right back." Inuyasha muttered these words while tying his belt on and rushed through the house to the front door. "Just stay here." With that he closed the door behind him and stepped into the woods.

Irately that their tender moment had been so quickly severed, Deidara sat up and blew a stray strand of his mussed bangs out of his face. Gradually he clothed himself too, being put ill at ease by the sudden sense of urgency in his lover he felt it better to be prepared in case of emergency. It wasn't too uncommon for a stray demon to wander too close to their home and need fending off. Deidara only wished his partner would give him a bit more credit for his strengths and let him do more than pick off the weaker demons that found themselves on Inuyasha's doorstep.

Outside the rain came in random drops through the dense canopy and Inuyasha's feet squished into the saturated earth. The scent of wet mud wafted into the air, but with quick sniffs the mutt tried to see past it, holding onto the ribbon of odor that had seized his heart.

"There's no way," he bounded through the trees, sniffing every so often against the bark, following the faint trail left by dots of lingering scent. But finally, two hundred feet from his home, he stopped. In the crook of a large tree the scent was strongest, the host having rubbed its musk all over the branches and leaves. With the rain washing away odors of long ago, Inuyasha's claws dug deep into the branch, his anger and worry overwhelming. "It's not… that bastard. He's watching the- I can't…." he snarled and ripped long gauges into the trees flesh, the green collecting under his nails. "… I'll kill him. Watching my house like a…. I'll kill him."

Curious as to what new threat posed itself against their home this time, Deidara parted the back shoji and leaned out, keeping under the awning that covered the porch as he glanced about for the other man. Around the corner he spotted Inuyasha clinging to a young oak with his nose and claws buried in the tree's hide.

"What are you smelling un?" The ninja ventured, leaning his shoulder against one of the porch's support beams.

Inuyasha's head snapped back to the voice, unsure of what to say. The source of the smell wasn't a good one. But with all the rain, the trail leading away from the tree was cold, only the accumulated marker left on. Looking around sniffing the air once again, and without another heavy lead to find his way to the cause of his distress, Inuyasha left the tree and returned to the porch, a heated, somber look his only reply. As he tried to enter the dwelling again, he was bared by his lover.

"What is it un, tell me. You can't just get up and get all upset and not tell me un. What?"

With his anger bubbling at the surface, the hanyou had to avoid snapping in response.

"He's back. That son of a bitch has been watching the house."

For a moment every part of Deidara froze from his breathing to his heartbeat to his worried thoughts; then it all plummeted.

"You mean… Itachi's been stalking us? But… we sealed the well off un! There's no possible way he could get back through… right un?" With a nervous look on his face, the shinobi combed his blonde bangs away from his face with his fingers. "It's… only been a year… not even that long un…"

"It doesn't matter how long it's been!" Inuyasha barked. Not knowing any better response he crossed to the second support beam and smashed his fist into it, a hearty growl seeping through his lips. "I swear I'll kill him. I'll kill that fucking piece of shit-"

Deidara sighed and stepped to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe we can leave for a while, and he'll lose interest un. A little vacation how's that sound hm?" The ninja could feel his insides twist with the knowledge of his lie. Knowing the Uchiha, he'd complete his mission, no matter what.

"Fuck that! I'll fucking hunt him down now and tear his ass up!" He spun on his heel, attempting to again enter the damp forest in search of his mortal enemy. But before his foot left the edge of the home, a firm hand grasped his shoulder.

"Look Inuyasha, I'm just as upset as you are about Itachi coming back, but before you go tearing him limb from limb, why not trying to settle things with a little diplomacy this time un? Maybe he's changed a little-"

"Men like that don't change, Deidara, he was born a weasel and he'll die a weasel and the sooner he gets to dying, the better." Inuyasha snapped, taking his lover aback just a bit. The ninja's expression turned from one of worry into one of disapproval as his lips contorted downward into a sour frown.

"Don't you have any ability to let bygones be bygones un? Does everything about Itachi have to be so negative un?"

The silver-hair's shoulders squared off, and he turned ever slightly, still not able to look the man defending his long time abuser in the eyes.

"I told him to stay down and die where lay. If he wants to go again, I'll happily put him in his grave. Now let go." He tried to shrug off the younger man's hand, but it held firm.

"Well you can't find him anyway un, it's too wet. There's no use you going out in the cold and getting sick. Besides… I can't sense his energy, so he's probably long gone."

When still the ninja would not release Inuyasha's shoulder, the half demon turned away as if threatening to leave regardless of his lover's hand. This only made Deidara clutch tighter to the hanyou though, feeling the anger and the doubt rolling off of his mate like a foreboding tide.

"Inuyasha… You know more than any other that I've nothing for Itachi un, but at the same time I don't let what he did in the past rule my life un… holding onto your anger is like letting him poison you with his hate. Just let it go un… Come back to bed and I'll fix you something for breakfast un." Again the ninja tugged at his lover's shoulder, trying to coax him away from the situation as best he could.

As Deidara's eyes blink he felt the muscle beneath his palm move, and all at once the mutt spun around and gripped at his wrist, holding it callously.

"I'm not gonna 'just let it go'. I don't let go of that kind of stuff. I'm never gonna get over it. I will never get over what he did… what he did to _you_. I couldn't do anything last time to stop it, but I'll be dammed if I'm going to let him get away with it again. I'll kill him first. I hate him. Deidara. I will always hate him."

"Inuyasha, you don't need to sink to his level un. By spending so much of yourself against him, he's already won half the battle." Deidara retorted, returning the cold look the hanyou gave him, snatching his wrist hastily out of Inuyasha's grasp. "I'm not telling you to forget it ever happened, or act like it didn't… just don't give him the benefit of your thoughts un." When the half demon's expression didn't change, the younger man's brow furrowed and he snapped again before his partner could comment back. "You know what, forget I ever said it, you're too stubborn anyway un." With that he turned on his heel and slammed the north Shoji open, storming back into the house.

Inuyasha grumbled but slid it close behind him, taking a few heated breaths before sitting himself on the right corner of the terrace. Looking out he turned his ears out and caught every twig snap, every droplet splashing against foliage, and he crossed his legs and waited for the rain to stop.

Chapter 1:

With a heavy sigh, tired fingers traced over the sign '_scarlet_' carved over an intricately painted door. A rather world-weary man hunched as he recited the kanji's name before the image on the gate shifted and the entryway opened. His red and black, high-collared cloak slipped from his shoulders, and he hung the soggy cloth from a steel hook in the wall before nearly collapsing onto the mattress in the far left corner of the dimly lit room. Rolling onto his back, Itachi rubbed his brow between his thumb and forefinger as if to alleviate a headache while spreading his rain-dampened limbs out over top of his sheets. The Uchiha wished he'd be able to catch a wink of sleep, but knew he wouldn't be able to with so many fresh, raw images burning in his mind.

He'd been to spy on his former pet, hoping to find the bond between Deidara and that mongrel to have been severed within the past year, but no such luck. There wasn't even a moment of late when the half demon wasn't within earshot of his stolen mate, and as long as Inuyasha was around, the blonde could not be touched. Itachi knew this well, for in his twenty three years, never had any man or beast seen the better of him before that mutt who had miraculously been able to steal the vision and the power from his left eye. It almost hurt him, made him ill to his stomach and to his mind to see how close and intimate the pair still were after so much time had passed. But the Uchiha would have to bide his time and bite his tongue until he could catch his former property unaware and alone; and for that opportunity he would wait, but for now he needed to fight for sleep more than anything else.

But that would have to wait. Before his good eye could fully close he sensed another being present before his door and he looked irritably at the grand shadow cast across his room.

"I'm not in the mood Kisame. Why don't you go play with your jellyfish for the afternoon?"

A deep chuckle, like the tide churning across the break, rumbled against the walls, filling the room with the laughter. The blue-haired man entered against the Uchiha's wishes, strolling over to tower over Itachi's bed.

"Well well, and where has my Ita-kun been? Your cloak's all wet, so you must have wandered quite a ways away."

With a grunt, the raven-haired man rolled onto his side, facing his back towards his fishy partner and grunting irritably.

"I told you I wasn't in the mood for your company, Hoshigaki, and my business is my own. Leave me to rest."

"Now what's this? Looks as if my little minx has a bit of a temper. No need to be nasty, Itachi," Kisame purred. But when there came no reaction, he smirked and smoothed his hand over the other's flanks, producing a shiver. "Come on, what's eating at you? I hope you didn't go off and get sick on me."

"I don't have to tell you everything that I do on my own time, Kisame, you're not my mother." Still the Uchiha wouldn't turn to face the other ninja who had begun to pet at the younger man's arm in an attempt to stir a reaction from him.

"Well aren't we pissy tonight," the shark-like man cooed, taking his nails and scraping them across the surface of the other man's cold skin. As he continued, the ninja playfully snagged the edge of Itachi's tank top, sliding it slightly off his shoulder.

"Kisame," the raven-haired ninja grunted, looking up at the elder man and furrowing his brows in a stare that was a mixture of irritation and disapproval.

His only response was a grin full of sharp teeth as he peeled his own cloak from his broad shoulders. Tossing the heavy, black garment to the side, the swordsman leaned over his smaller counterpart, looming over him and reaching out to run his rough fingers over Itachi's pale cheek.

"What do you think you're doing, Kisame?" the Uchiha questioned, not letting up his scowl.

"What does it look like, Ita-kun? It's been a long day and was thinking of a bit of you and me time. Come on…"

Not wanting to deal with the behemoth, Itachi tried to roll from underneath him, hopefully deflecting the man's intentions and sending him on his way. But with surprising force, Kisame's massive hands darted out before his body could fully turn, the fingers wrapping aggressively around his thin wrists to pin him in place.

"Nuh uh, Ita, you're not getting away that quick. Now come on, don't be so grumpy."

"I have all the right to be in whatever mood that suits me" Itachi retorted, letting his face fall into a deadpan, attempting to appear more than apathetic towards his maliciously grinning partner. "And I'd say your manhandling is doing nothing to improve my demeanor." With that he rolled again, tearing his wrist from the fish-man's paw, facing his flank towards Kisame.

Slowly Kisame's playful mood slunk into irritation, but not wanting to lose his cool so quickly, he tried another attempt at rousing his partner's interest. He hands again roamed the raven-hair's body, his rough palms smoothing over the Uchiha's ribs and to his hips, almost daring a reach around.

When all the Mist ninja received from his partner was a very icy cold-shoulder, his maw twisted with dissatisfaction, but clearly Itachi wouldn't give in. The raven haired man was almost as coldly stubborn as Kisame Hoshigaki was tall; in essence, _very_. But when it came to wants and opinions, it seemed the two could embargo for ages should their minds be conflicting.

Finally one of the powers caved, not being able to stand the impasse. With excessive force, Kisame grabbed the brooding other by his shoulder, slamming his body back to lie beneath him. As Itachi's mouth opened for a tart retort, it was filled with the thick tongue of the blue-hair, garbling his words.

Offended and startled, the younger man grunted and squirmed, but with another shove he was dominated in the invading kiss until he went soft in the elder man's arms. Satisfied with Itachi's compliance, the Mist ninja released some of the pressure he held his partner, but as soon as his palms slid from shoulders to sheets, the raven-haired man was lashing out. As quick as a blink, the Uchiha's hand darted out until it got a hold of Kisame's thick neck, grasping it firmly with electrically charged fingers, prodding the great brute like a stubborn bull.

The fish-man growled and his body slightly crumpled on top of the Uchiha, but the lapse in strength was short lived. Again taking hold of the attacking wrists, Kisame irritably smashed the assailant's hands above his head, yanking Itachi's arms up to a painful angle.

"You little- that hurt. You better cut that shit out or I'm gonna have to get nasty." Getting right back to business, he leaned in for another kiss, but instead took to the ninja's exposed neck, biting teasingly against the side of his throat.

Itachi growled low in his throat like an offended alpha wolf warning his underling to watch his conduct, but he was cut short as knife-like pointed teeth sunk into his soft neck, just piercing the skin and drawing tiny beads of blood from his marble skin. With a yelp as if his annoyance hand boiled over, the Uchiha twisted in the older man's grasp until he could dig his knee into his partner's gut, striking a firm wall of muscle which protected the soft organs.

"Just who's neck do you think you are biting, shark-bait?" he snarled, narrowing his eyes as Kisame released his throat and licked the scarlet from his teeth.

Having no problem with the weak abuse he was receiving, the older man suckled the wound he had created and hummed into the flesh.

"I'm playing with my minx, who do you think? Why are you being such a pain, Ita-kun? You're not making this any fun. At least help out and take your shirt off." Looking to see his partner's response, Kisame was only met with cold malice. Taking the hint, he gave the raven-hair another toothy grin and chomped onto the band of the navy top, ripping into the cloth and shredding it as he leaned away and stripped it form Itachi's chest.

Throwing the scrap of cloth that remained of his shirt aside furiously, Itachi gritted his teeth and sat up by giving the larger man a hearty shove.

"I think you have lost sight of who controls this partnership," he hissed narrowing his eyes until the one that still function nearly seemed to glow like a red ember between his thick, dark lashes. "Keep your paws off of me else I will kill you and feed you to your own sharks."

If not for his friskiness this particular day, such a statement normally drove Kisame away. But with so much effort already invested, he wasn't about to walk away with nothing.

"Mmm I love it when you act all tough. But I think I'm just gonna have to tie you up like last time, since you're in such a pissy mood." The large male quickly retrieved the discarded shirt, using the tattered cloth to tie his partners' wrists to the headboard, the younger man struggling all the while. But with his strength, Itachi didn't stand a chance.

"Untie me this second you piece of shit!" Itachi hissed as his foot popped the shark-man a good one in the jaw. Unfazed, the behemoth only chuckled and growled at his feisty little captive, pulling the bondage tighter until it nearly dug into Itachi's skin. This only enraged the Uchiha further until he was glaring at his partner with blood red eyes and bared teeth like a savage animal. "I will have you begging for death if you do not release me this instant, Kisame! Know your place!"

Smirking, Kisame only seized Itachi's jaw, cutting off his acidic rant and gripped into his cheeks.

"Oh, lighten up. If you keep thrashing around I'll end up dislocating your shoulder again. And you know how I hate wrecking your pretty body."

"Kisame, I don't want to kill you, but if you keep this game up I will not hesitate to burn you to oblivion. Now get off before I really lose my patience." Despite all his venomous threats, there wasn't anything in Itachi's body language that suggested his intention to follow through. The Akatsuki had already suffered the loss of Akasuna no Sasori, and more recently Hashimoto Deidara. To lose Hoshigaki Kisame due to something as trivial as an internal quarrel would cripple the organization as much as the loss of his left eye had crippled Itachi. He wished for the larger ninja to leave him in peace, but could not bring himself to use lethal force.

And low and behold the mass of the man lifted and departed, as if by shear will and idol threats he had succeeded in sending him away. But before he could claim his victory with rest, the sound of Kisame's low growl whispering to the door made his stomach churn, and sure enough the large portal returned to its closed state, sealing the pair of them inside the soundproof room. To Itachi's discontent his monstrous partner returned, sitting himself next to the Uchiha's detained body and resumed coaxing him into intimacy.

It seemed for a moment that Itachi would retort, but when he opened his mouth to unleash another scathing yet weightless threat, a massive palm clasped over it. The Mist ninja grinned and waggled a free finger in front of his partner's nose.

"That's enough lip from you, little minx. From now until we're finished here, the only time I want to hear your voice is when you're screaming my name or begging for me to be merciful. Is that quite understood?" To show that there was actual purpose behind his threat, Kisame pressed against his captive's skull until his jaw became painful and his neck nearly twisted. With a look of uncertainty and woe, the Uchiha finally gave in with a muffled grunt and a reluctant nod.

With an excited snarl, Kisame wasted no time stripping the pair of them and settling into his starting position. As things were set in motion around him, the raven hair could only try to get comfortable and force his thoughts to wander back into his dark mind. He closed his eyes and began again on the construction of his plan to take back that of which was once his alone.

"Deidara?" Inuyasha called off the back porch. The rain had let up very briefly but was beginning to pick up again and there was no sign of his mate. Well of course there were signs of him, his scent was all over everything in the house; the hanyou could even follow his footsteps into the forest left in the sodden ground. Put ill at ease by the news of Itachi's return, the blonde shinobi had announced rather suddenly that he would take advantage in the moment of clear weather to train in the woods. Hours had passed since Deidara had stepped out and still he hadn't returned, making his lover nervous, not liking the idea of the other man being out with a crook like Itachi running amuck but also not wanting to step on his mate's toes if he needed his alone time. Finally the rain picking up gave him an excuse to find the ninja and bring him back inside where it was safe under Inuyasha's watchful eye.

With the rain having lasted most of the day, the ground was even more flooded than in the morning, irritating Inuyasha as he sloshed through it. The trail of his lover was washed away with the continuous downpour, but a path of mud made it easy to follow and find the still steaming blonde. As slow as he knew he was, even the hanyou knew that Deidara was still mad at him, having ended their conversation earlier with heated glares and slamming of doors. Afterwards was a silent breakfast, both eating in separate rooms, with Inuyasha still sitting post outside. When the shinobi had left, the mutt had attempted to keep him home, but a stabbing look from him allowed his departure.

"Kid? Come on Dei- it's pouring out here! You're gonna get sick!" Inuyasha called out into the woods.

When there came no reply, Inuyasha forged on through the mire that squelched between his toes and the downpour that soaked his hair and robes through and through. His ears folded back as he begun to realize how furious the shinobi must be with him to stay out in this miserable weather rather than return home. The half demon forced himself onward until he reached the little glen where on several occasions he had spied on Deidara while the younger man exercised in privacy, hoping to keep the secret to his physique hidden from his mate lest he think worse of his human strength. The clearing was worn down in places where the shinobi conducted his work outs most frequently and the center of the hideaway held a monolith of a stump worn around the edges where it was kicked and punched more than frequently.

The ninja looked rather like a drowned rat, drenched by the downpour as still he continued his training in spite of the rain. He stood before the stump and kicked it until Inuyasha flinched at the sound of a crunch as the cambium finally broke under the shinobi's heel. Alternating from his kicks, Deidara began to lay his fists into his makeshift dummy until his knuckles were raw and bleeding, yet still he kept on. Through the weather and the pain, he gritted his teeth and put his body through the stresses of training, feeling himself harden against the elements of nature and battle if only a little more than before.

With all of this aggression Inuyasha was almost scared to interrupt. The more anger he could get out of Deidara before talking with him, the better. Careful not to alert the highly trained ninja in his practice, the hanyou slunk to brush, still in good range to watch but with less exposure to the rain.

After what felt like miserably cold and wet ages of the blonde kicking and punching dents in his practicing stump through the beating rain, Deidara finally paused. With a sigh, he leaned forward and wiped his sodden bangs from his face to clear his vision, flipping the soaking hair back and revealing his entire face; a rare occurrence. When it appeared as if he'd managed to catch his breath, he turned on his heel as if to begin his hike back to the house put paused and turned his gaze towards the ground.

"Alright, I'm done with my training for today un, you can quit watching me like you still think you're sneaky Inuyasha. What is it you want un?"

After the near hour of steadying his breath and maintaining his motionlessness, Inuyasha nearly fell over, but remained out of full sight. The irritation still remained in his lover's voice, so the silver-hair knew he was still in choppy waters.

"It's wet out here. I came to get you. I… didn't want you to be out here forever and get sick. I'll make lunch if you want."

Deidara stretched one of his arms across his chest to fill his time while he though, as if he might decide to stay out a while longer just to spite the hanyou.

"I wouldn't object to potato and leek soup if you're in a culinary mood un. First things first though, I'm going to put on some dry clothes." He paused and looked directly at the shrubs Inuyasha was trying so hard to conceal himself under. "Are you going to come out of there or stay all curled up like you think I'm going to bite your head off un?"

"Well… are you?" Inuyasha leaned slightly to his right and almost yelped, finding his mate having already moved to stand over him. Looking up to meet Deidara's curious look, he simply blinked.

"I suppose not un," the blonde finally sighed, taking a few steps away towards the direction of their house. The half-breed was quick to follow, still not daring to let his guard fully down. If he had learned anything in dealing with loved ones, it was that even though they say their fine… they aren't.

Thankfully as the day wore on into evening, the hot-headed ninja's demeanor improved noticeably as it tended too after vigorous exercise. He griped as Inuyasha fussed over his knuckles, bashed against the tree stump until there was almost no skin left on them. Still, tired muscles and a bellyful of warm soup relaxed Deidara considerably like music to the savage beast.

Even without nimble fingers the hanyou essentially bandaged his lover, wrapping clean gauze around his hand and tying a crude knot against the side, adding more to his overall fighter look. In attempt to add to his deliverance from Deidara's hostility he kissed his handiwork casually and set to work on cleaning up their mess.

The work out had done its job in calming the young man's mind, relieving some of the burden caused by the storm of Itachi's return and Inuyasha's still lingering grudge. Deidara had come to two conclusions: one, if Inuyasha chose to indulge in hatred towards the Uchiha, then that was not something that even his mate could readily change, and two, if Itachi really was after them again, the blonde was sure to be ready. However, by the time the pair had climbed under the sheets for the night, the ninja's brain was buzzing again with thoughts of defending himself and Inuyasha from his jealous or vengeful ex. He found his eyes difficult to close, even as he curled the curve of his spine against the hanyou's sturdy front side.

As his back pressed comfortably into his mate's chest, he suddenly felt fingers gliding across his own pectorals, meeting in the middle to lock together around him.

"Hey kid… you awake?"

Deidara sighed, shoving his troubling thoughts into the back of his mind before looking over his shoulder at the other man, just barely able to make out the hanyou's outline in the darkness.

"Yeah … did you want to talk un?"

"You're not mad at me… are you? Earlier… I didn't mean to get like that." Although his lover couldn't see, Inuyasha's ear had shamefully folded back, sensing the blonde stirring and assuming it was his doing.

Flashing back to the argument they had that morning, Deidara pursed his lips and forced his shoulders to relax, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly as if letting go of all the harsh things that had been said. It was one of those things that he could feel like poison in his mind and if he clung to their disagreement, he would only be worse for it.

"No… I'm… I'm okay now un. You are how you are, and things will be a lot more difficult if I can't learn to accept your quirks. So no, I can't stay angry with you, not now at least un."

Nuzzling into the man's right shoulder, the hanyou hummed apologetically.

"I know you want everything to be all good, but some things… some things like that are too tough to get over. But I promise not to let it change the way I feel about you." With that the mutt stuck out his lips and rested them on the flesh, humming louder to show his unchanged affection.

Letting himself relax slightly, the shinobi let his stresses slip away a little more, a smile creeping across his lips as another kiss found its way to his neck.

"I suppose I spent so much time without a moral compass that I've forgotten how to make bad things a big deal un… You always did feel more strongly about Itachi than I did un."

"I can't help but hate people who hurt others... especially others I care about. He went out of his way to – no, I don't want to… can we not talk about him anymore? I'm just gonna end up angry again. I just wanna think about you kid." The elder's fingers retracted from each other and began dancing over Deidara's skin.

"Why can't you be like that all the time un?" the blonde smiled as he rolled over in his mate's arms to face Inuyasha, tracing his thumb over the other man's cheek thoughtfully. "You know, that's all I've been trying to get you to do. Don't give that bastard the benefit of your thoughts so you can focus on what's important: your friends, you loved ones… your family un…" Chuckling to himself, Deidara leaned in to kiss the half demon chastely on the lips before humming into his jaw happily. "Itachi's not important un."

Inuyasha's eyes closed lazily and he smiled into the kiss.

"Only when he's after you. You're everything to me, Dei. I want you forever and ever." He gently brushed his mate's hair from his face, granting him the second view of the day of his entire face. Even in the absence of light he could make out the glimmer in Deidara's eyes, and oh how they pulled him in.

"And forever I am yours un," the ninja replied smoothly, rubbing his nose affectionately against Inuyasha's in an Eskimo kiss. The action brought a grin to the half demon's face and Deidara chuckled when his lover tilted his head and began to kiss the blonde man's chin and jaw.

As their limbs became entangled, Inuyasha again felt the still new feeling of intimacy wash over him. With all the time in the world and no cares, he indulged every moment he could into creating this feeling, drowning himself in the want, the need to be loved and to love. Before, matters of importance seemed to underline his romances, never truly allowing him to explore his basic wants of affection. But with his mate alongside him and with no needs but their health and wellbeing, he greedily took advantage of every moment he could to consume his lovers attention.

After what felt like ages of closeness and shared pleasure, the pair separated, content with their physically romantic needs met for the time. With a look of satisfied tiredness on his face, Deidara rested his head against Inuyasha's chest and hummed affectionately into the freshly warmed skin. While his lover was still awake, the artist thought to take a moment and reaffirm their devotion through words, an act which always left him feeling more in love with Inuyasha than ever.

"Mmmm I love you so much. I don't ever want to leave your side un."

Still holding a devious nature from their romp, the hanyou took Deidara's hands by the wrists and nibbled them ferociously.

"I will never let you. I hope you like it here, cause you are mine forever."

The younger man couldn't help but laugh at his lover's tickling little nips, taking his own opportunity to lean in and give the same treatment to one of the hanyou's pointed ears.

"Well I hope you can live with me forever un, cause you're stuck with me. There isn't a thing you could do that would drive me away un." Letting his laughter die away a little to show he was feeling tired, the shinobi abandoned Inuyasha's ear and pecked the other man on the forehead lovingly. "Hm, what a paradise un… to be with you like this forever." Deidara paused, letting himself lay down comfortably by his lover's side. "Do you think, we'll always be like this un? I mean just you and me, nothing official, just lovers? Nothing… more un?"

"Well what else is there? All I need I you with me, and I'm set for life."

Realizing that the hanyou hadn't ever considered the complexity of a relationship, Deidara parted his lips to say something, but something stopped him. What was he expecting? What else was there? Sure, if he asked he could probably convince Inuyasha to marry him, but in this time, what did it matter? There was no significant authority that they had to prove their love to, so why bother with the expenses? They loved each other. Deidara knew that. But… was it enough?

"I guess you're right un. Just you and me hm."

"Yup; just you and me. You know, no matter what might happen, nothing will ever change between you and me, kid. I love you and I always will and having you is all I need to survive."

Deidara sighed and let it go; after all there was no sense in pining over something so trivial. He could live without marital union, he loved Inuyasha and the hanyou reciprocated and that's all he needed. With that the blonde hummed and curled up to his lover's side, his tired body falling asleep rather easily with the sound of his lover beside him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The wildlife was scarce around the home of the hanyou and shinobi, the elder of the pair having chased off most game from around the premises. The earth was still moist underfoot, a few birds chirped in the crisp, new air while the blonde sat comfortably out on the back deck. Only a half hour prior had his companion set out for the days meal, having to search farther for food as he had hunted out the nearest prey.

How Deidara wished he could be out in the forest, proving his worth through hunting as well, but the half demon had insisted otherwise. Itachi's return made being out in the forest too dangerous, besides, with his sense of smell, Inuyasha would be able to track and kill anything much more efficiently than his human mate. Put off, the blonde leaned back against the wall of their home with a grunt, folding his arms and wishing the other man would hurry up.

He had to admit the time alone was calming. Not to say he didn't love the hanyou with all his heart, but time to think and contemplate things on his own terms was relaxing, and the calm, breezy weather was a great contrast to the day before.

With a bit of a low sigh, the shinobi stretched his arms over his head until his spine gave a satisfying pop. Deciding to take advantage of the warmth and sunshine, Deidara wasted no time in leaping onto the roof of their home and stretching out comfortably against the wooden shingles. Setting in for a quick cat nap, the young ninja swallowed a little qualm for his laziness by telling himself that he worked hard enough to earn a little relaxing time.

A few hundred yards away, a large boar snorted aggressively and dug his hooves into the mud, a rather snarky Inuyasha crouched before him.

"Alright piggy, take your best shot." The hanyou cracked his knuckles challengingly, irritating the large beast. As he watched the creatures' movements carefully, the mutt almost laughed. It was too bad he had left Deidara at home. He would have loved to show off or even tag teamed with more game, but he'd have to get his kicks from the single hog. Leaving him for too long…

No, the blonde was a big boy, and could - in fact - take care of himself. Inuyasha had to constantly remind himself. But from a loud squeal he was pulled back into the hunt, and braced for a hit as the boar came barreling towards him.

Deidara lay stretched out atop the apex of the house, balancing with skill and napping lightly in the sunlight dappled only by the shade of trees above. The blonde tended to be a rather heavy sleeper in most cases, but fully rested the night before his cycle wasn't deep. He grunted in his sleep as a stray feather carried on the wind danced under his nose and a quick hand snatched it before it could fly away again. A lazy yet curious eye creaked open to observe the tickling annoyance he'd captured, spinning the little black plume by the hollow shaft between his thumb and forefinger.

"Hm I wonder… haven't seen and black birds around un. Maybe it's a crow?" Looking about he let his innocent curiosity lead his consciousness, but suddenly it clicked, and every nerve in his body was on end.

"Oh shit-"

Too late a large mass dropped from the sky near his perch on the roof, and there wasn't enough time to flee before the prowler made his move.

Trying his best to think on his toes, Deidara launched himself to the right, sending himself barreling down the slanted roof before being stopped suddenly by a hand wrapped around his ankle. It was an alarming feeling, being jerked into the air by his caught foot as the raven-haired man launched the other ninja a good five feet into the air, making his fall back towards earth all the higher. Deidara twisted midair, barely catching himself and landing on his feet before Itachi was on him again.

Tackling the blonde to land on his back, the pair slid down, almost sending the both of them off the edge. As Deidara jerked under Itachi's weight, the dark ninja dug his heel into the trim of the roof, keeping the two of them from tumbling off. The Iwa-nin struggled to throw the enemy off, but grabbing what he could the Uchiha held his ex-lover against the warm shingles.

"Calm down, Kintori or you'll end up breaking something."

"I'll break your face if you don't get the fuck off of me un!" the blonde snapped as he suddenly shoved his leg between himself and the other Akatsuki, delivering a forceful kick to the raven's chest and forcing him off. It was startling to say the least; was he actually holding his own against Itachi? Why didn't the Uchiha just use his kekegenkai to unleash the Tsukuyomi like he had so many other times? Deidara didn't have time to clear his thoughts as again the enemy ninja made a grab for him from which he leapt away, landing on the ground below. "If you don't get out of here, Inuyasha will break you neck un. There's no rain to save you this time, he'll track you down and finish what he started un. Now get the fuck out before something really unfortunate happens to you un!"

"You're really going to hide behind him? Leave that cur on his chain, Deidara, I want to talk to you. He has nothing to do with this. I haven't come to harm you." Leaping down to land near him, Itachi put up his hands in a surrendering manner, but still his former partner slid back, putting plenty of space between the pair of them.

"I'm not hiding behind anyone, Itachi, I'm warning you that Inuyasha hates you fatally and if you don't leave, he _will_ kill you, whether you come in peace or not un." The blonde narrowed his eyes skeptically, keeping his stance low and powerful should he need to make a counterstrike or evasive maneuvers. "Besides, I don't think we've got anything to discuss un."

"There's plenty, but if you're set on driving me away, then this will only take longer. I need to talk to you… calm and quiet. There are things that… I need you to hear." For once Itachi's voice was void of his dark sarcasm, his sadistic purr. No it was basic…. Honest. Even vulnerable.

Still not letting his guard down, Deidara rose to stand erect before his enemy if only so he would not appear scared of the other man.

"Have you come to apologize for the years of hell you forced me to endure un? Are you here to beg for my forgiveness?" The younger ninja narrowed his eyes, knowing neither could be true but also knowing that if Itachi hadn't come to make amends for his ill deeds of the past, then he could only be back to try and manipulate the ex-Akatsuki away from Inuyasha.

Slightly frustrated the raven- hair shinobi closed his eyes, dreading his required yielding. Without a doubt he wanted to go back to the old ways and snap his fingers and get his way, but long had Deidara's obedience left.

"If that's what I must do… then yes. Kintori… I want you to come home."

The younger man's face hardened, as if the one small ember of hope that Itachi was a reformed man seeking to right his wrongs of the past was quickly smothered.

"I'd rather die than go back to that stinking hell," the blonde replied coldly. "Leave now, and never come back un. We're finished here." With nothing more, Deidara turned his back on the other man, entering his home and closing the shoji firmly behind himself, knowing that if Itachi followed it would only give him grounds to react violently.

Itachi watched the man leave, and almost made the mistake of following him into the dwelling, but froze as his hand almost touched the frame of the door. If the plan was to work, he had to play by Deidara's rules and appease him.

"Deidara, I will tell you what I have to say. Maybe not today, but soon. But this I want you to know right now." He balled his hand into a fist and brought it to his side. "The Akatsuki doesn't want you back. I want you back. And I'm willing to do anything."

Waiting by the doorframe, the blonde stood at the ready, meat cleaver in hand should the other man dare to break the sanctity of the home he and Inuyasha had toiled to build. He stayed poised for a strike until he could no longer feel his enemy's chakras, knowing he was either out of range or had disappeared into the well altogether. Replacing his weapon back into the chopping block, Deidara turned and collapsed onto the futon in the central room of the house, feeling shock wash over him. Never before in his life had the artist staved off Itachi of his own power, never had he even dreamed the like was possible, and yet he had. It was utterly astounding; so why didn't he feel ecstatic?

His mind was sick with swimming thoughts about Itachi. He'd do anything to have Deidara back, but the very thought made the younger ninja's stomach tie into knots with the memory of mistreatment and abuse. He'd promised himself to Inuyasha, the one man who above all else, completed him, and he would never betray that promise, and yet there was sick pity in his heart for the Uchiha.

Just as he settled into the soft mattress, the front door slammed open, heavy footsteps followed.

"Where is he?" an angry hanyou called from the front room. "I can smell him!" There was a loud thump, what Deidara presumed was his catch, and he looked over in time to see Inuyasha slam open yet another door, hunting furiously throughout the home for signs of the Uchiha.

With an exasperated grunt, the blonde rolled over onto his back, wiping his hands down his face, knowing that explaining his battle with the other ninja to Inuyasha would be a royal pain in the ass.

"Showed up, fought on the roof, told me he wanted me back, I said 'no' and told him to leave and he left un. Simple as that."

Inuyasha's face fell and he could only glare at his companion.

"'Simple as that'? Damn I don't know how you can be so fucking calm. Are you sure he's gone- and how hard did you kick his ass?"

"I wasn't going to go back on your principal and fight a man who wouldn't fight back un. Sure I had to kick him off me once, but he didn't give me much physical trouble. Said he wanted to talk, but I'm not drinking any of the venom he's spitting un." Deidara looked up at the other man with a look of annoyance as if irritated that Inuyasha so doubted his ability to defend himself.

Inuyasha scrunched his lips to the side in a content manner.

"Truly you are too good a man for anyone. I'd have kicked his half-blind ass up and down this place. Pork's for dinner, by the way." Inuyasha silently reopened the back shoji and began walking into the clearing, and curious, Deidara poked his head out.

"Where are you going un? He's not around here anymore."

"Going to the river for a bath. I stink of that pig… wanna come?"

Deidara smiled and made haste to follow the half demon, catching up rather quickly and stripping his sleeveless shirt along the way.

"Anything to get the reek of weasel off me un. It's been too long since I washed last anyway."

Inuyasha smiled, but couldn't help but look back on the house as they departed. A gust of wind blew throughout the dwelling and across the shingles of the roof, and that singer ebony feather twirled and fluttered around but still remained, and the hanyou glared at it, as if it were a sentinel, harmless but active. Well that was fine. If the shinobi wanted to come and try to reclaim that which he couldn't, the hybrid was willing to fight for it.

The damp walls of the hidden headquarters permeated their usual stench of moldy earth after a hard rain, and Itachi's nose recoiled at the smell. After what he considered to be a failed step in his master plan, the Uchiha didn't want to have to come home to that smell. But as he held his breathe, he knew it could be worse. It could smell of fish. Oh how he couldn't stand that stink, or taste for that matter.

He was sure to shut the door behind himself and seal it with chakras to prevent… unwanted entry. Collapsing back into bed, the Uchiha contemplated his next move, realizing he wouldn't be able to get anywhere with Deidara while the other man was so unwilling to see him let alone speak with him. He would have to return and try again to win Deidara's favor, perhaps in a few days the blonde would have calmed down and could be spoken too.

There was a knock on his massive door, and the rave-hair rolled away from the sound.

"Kisame, I have no fathomable desire to see you. Leave or I'll turn you into chum."

"Don't drag me into your business, Itachi. Pein-sama wanted to know where you were," a softer voice called through the altered door. Itachi sat up.

"Konan?"

"Yes. Kisame also has been looking everywhere for you, but he was sent out on a recon mission earlier. He'll be back by nightfall."

Thinking this over Itachi finally rolled out of bed and pressed his palm to the door, dispelling his chakra lock and allowing the only woman in the Akatsuki entrance such that they could speak face to face. She seemed concerned, looking on the man who was once the pride of the organization, now a fallen star, cut down from his prime and left, a hollow shell of the man he used to be.

"The Akatsuki keep many secrets, don't they Konan?"

"If we didn't we'd surely be dead by now."

"One more won't cause the pot to boil over then, would it?" The Uchiha raised his eyebrow, discretely asking if he could confide in Konan or if she would immediately leak his secret to Pien.

"All depends. If it's idol gossip, you know I could care less. But if it's worth keeping a secret, it better be for a good reason." She looked past him, asking that in return he permit her into his quarters, not warm to the idea of standing in the hall for such a discussion.

Courteously, the man stepped aside, allowing his blue-haired guest entrance, sealing the door behind her and offering her a seat at the foot of his bed while he, being a gracious host, remained standing.

"Of late I've been rather distracted, and not by Kisame's sudden turn of demeanor. A matter of a man, once belonging to the Akatsuki has been invading my thoughts these past few weeks."

"Deidara? Tobi's ex-partner. It's been a year since his disappearance and Pein-sama still has Tobi out searching for him. What of him?" She folded her hands into her lap, not interested in small talk, but rather the matter at hand. She wasn't one to really socialize, rather to stay at the leader's side and deal with business.

"Of course leader would send that brainless oaf out on such a wild-goose-chase." Itachi scoffed, leaning his back against the wall and tilting his head slightly to show his smirk, clearly enjoying Tobi's misfortune. "But what you wouldn't know was that I've located Deidara, held captive in a remote location by the same man who kidnapped him a year ago. He's a clever one, many tricks keeping unwanted visitors away, but I've solved the puzzle of his hideout. I wish to privately request Pein-sama to relieve me of my typical duties for the time being in exchange for a solo mission to rescue Deidara."

"Then why not ask him? I see no reason for you to pull me aside." Konan carefully read Itachi's face, a skill she had developed early in her career as a shinobi. The look in his eyes told it all, and knowing his motive for him informing her of his plans, she simply played dumb for the sake of wanting him to admit his ulterior motive.

"Well, as leader-sama's right hand, I assumed you might give me forewarning should such a proposal not sit well with Pein." Itachi folded his arms, another action Konan recognized as an instinctual defensive motion. "The only reason why this might not be favorable in leader's eyes, is that I also wish to propose a squad change. Of late Kisame's actions have become… rather physically abusive, and in order to save myself the bodily harm, I wish to be paired with Deidara instead, leaving Tobi and Kisame to work together instead."

The woman's face remained unchanged, but a sarcastic hum shot back at the request.

"You don't think our leader knows what goes on behind these walls? Yes, Pein-sama is aware of the goings-on of you and Kisame, but you have to look at the other aspects of your argument. To pair Kisame with a twit like Tobi would spell disaster. Kisame as we know has… a short temper and incredible strength. You have been able to work with him because of your calm demeanor. To pair him with a moron such as Tobi would bring the idiot's death, and the loss of a third teammate should be avoided at all costs. It seems our members are dropping off like flies; Sasori, then Deidara. We can't afford another casualty." Seeing Itachi's immediate stiffening, predictably leading to an argument, she raised her hand in a silencing motion. "However, the idea to return a member is a favorable idea. We need him back, seeing as he had incredible skill in ranged attacks. And seeing as he is valuable to others outside the organization, it would be more favorable to pair Kisame with him. The sheer size and strength of Kisame will ward off enemies, and I believe you can work with Tobi for the sake of the team."

Itachi gritted his teeth but forced himself to remain the image of calmness though on the inside his mind was afire with anger. How dare Konan suggest that Deidara be paired with Kisame? Furthermore, how dare she even _think_ to make a squad of the Uchiha and Tobi. The fool and the half-blind man; they would be the laughing stock of all five Great Nations. As humiliated and infuriated as Itachi was, he had to admit that Deidara and Kisame would make a terribly powerful team. With the artist's long-range explosives and Kisame's devastating short-range attacks, they would never be touched by any opponent. Pursing his lips and shaking his head, Itachi cleared his thoughts of the idea, reminding himself that should he be successful in reclaiming Deidara, he would keep the younger ninja for himself, hogging the artist selfishly and keeping him away from the world that always threatened to take him away.

"We shall see. Mind running my proposal by Pein-sama? Only to keep from rousing suspicion of course. I want this matter to remain private."

With their discussion drawing to a close, Konan stood and dusted herself off, as if the contents of Itachi's bed were too filthy to remain on her behind.

"I will tell Pein-sama that you wish to discuss something with him. The details I'll let you disclose. By the way," she looked dead center into his remaining functioning eye, "how long have you known his location?"

The raven-haired man saw his comrade to the door; giving her a respectful nod he was certain the kunoichi was outside of his doorframe before offering an answer.

"Long enough," Itachi replied with a stoic expression and a flat tone to his voice willing his door to close as soon as his he'd given his retort.

Still standing before the closed door, Konan heaved a sigh before turning. She looked one last time to the closed off room.

"Do you suppose Leader will appreciate you keeping that information to yourself?" With that last question she left, following the long hall to her own quarters were she hoped an expected man was waiting for her.

Back in his room, Itachi nearly collapsed back on his bed hoping to catch some much needed rest after the long journey through time and back. He needed to gather his strengths if he was going to try and take Deidara back, with Pein's go-ahead or without. At the same time, he knew that once Kisame returned from his reconnaissance mission, he'd hardly get another wink of sleep.

With fresh, clean skin, a soggy Inuyasha emerged from the channeling river, quickly snatching his hamaka from the shore and wriggling the scarlet trousers on. Still well into summer, the running river remained freezing and unpleasant. With warm cloth back on his legs the hanyou smiled and collapsed into the grass, laying out his arms and hair to dry by the sun.

Deidara sat in the grass beside his mate, wringing the water from his long tresses and letting the sun warm up his chilled skin as well. He'd never had much fondness for the mountain-fed stream, but it always beat being dirty. Still, the man of the future wished on occasion for the amenities he had left behind when he chose to stay with Inuyasha. He'd always miss things like hot and cold running water, scented bath soaps, and toothbrushes; but such things he would have to make do without. Love was funny that way.

As the rays of the sun warmed his skin, Inuyasha began to drift, letting his body relax for a change, feeling as if the droplets dripping over his flesh were in fact his very skin melting away. With a mischievous smirk, Deidara leaned over and allowed his damp hair to drip over the hanyou's chest. When he had Inuyasha's slightly irked attention, he turned to face the other man and lay on his side, propping his head up with one elbow.

"So, have you thought at all about what's next un? I mean Itachi's gone, so we're free to move on with our lives. Was there anything you wanted to accomplish in the next year or so un?"

"Well I'd beat my life that he's not through. He'll be back, and defeating him and keeping you safe is all I'm thinking about right now. We can worry about that other stuff later." Inuyasha tucked his hands behind his head, better fanning out his damp hair.

"Will you humor me un? I don't want to think about Itachi, I want to think about you and me and where we're going." He nudged his lover's flank with his palm, trying to coax a more satisfying response from the half demon. "I like to think ahead un. I want to know what we're going to do next week, and next month, and next year, and in the next ten years. Come on un, there's gotta be something!"

"Shit kid, I don't know." In all truth, he didn't. Living on his own, his basic thoughts were survival, and the most planning ahead he could manage was what he was going to do for his next meal. Growing up in the wood can do that to a man. "I mean what's wrong with what we're doing right now?"

"Nothing's wrong un!" Deidara blurted, waving his hand dismissively before inching closer to his lover and resting his head on the silver-hair's warm abdomen. "It's just, when most people think about settling down, they think about, you know, getting a house, a steady job, marriage, kids and all that un. I mean we've got the house, we don't need jobs with all the reward money you still have, and we can't _have_ kids…"

"So what are you wanting? We've got it made, Dei. I mean do you have something you want to do? It really doesn't matter to me, I'm happy like this." He combed his fingers through Deidara's messy hair, trying to avoid the snags. "Well actually… it's nice to be lazy for a while… but then it gets boring. I don't know… maybe I'll go with Sango and help her or something. I mean, I've always been a fighter, so it might make things more interesting. I bet you could come too, slay a few demons or whatever she wants. That might be fun for a little while."

Deidara sighed and closed his eyes, not liking the idea of his precious mate going off to do battle, getting hurt or killed. He wanted to tell Inuyasha that he'd rather they stay home together; he wanted to tell Inuyasha that he'd rather they get married, even something as small as an exchanging of simple vows. But no; not by the excitement with which Inuyasha spoke of future fighting or his perfect contentment with the way things were. It made the ninja worry that if he brought up the idea of marriage too obviously that it would be rejected, and Deidara wasn't sure how that might affect their relationship in the long run. Without the permanent bond of wedlock, there was always that remote and terrifying possibility that he and Inuyasha might not always be lovers. But still he couldn't show the hanyou his concern, it would take too much explaining and he wasn't certain he could deal with the idea being shot down.

"Sounds fun un," he replied simply, planting a light kiss on Inuyasha's stomach to show he was pleased, even if the emotion was false.

The pair lay there for several more minutes until Inuyasha's opened irritably, the sun making it hard to snooze. But in his random thoughts, he had a concern.

"Did you shut the doors before we left?"

Deidara thought and shrugged.

"I can't remember, un."

"Dammit, I bet something got a hold of that boar by now. There goes dinner," the hanyou growled.

"Well, let's go back and check un. No sense getting all hopeless before we see un."

Nodding his agreement, Inuyasha followed as the artist lead the way back home, shaking his damp hair every now and again. Both men deflated considerably as they found the front shoji to be wide open and the floorboards smeared with fresh boar's blood. There was hair and blood all across the kitchen and dark scarlet had soaked into the cracks between the floorboards and crusted over. All that remained of the catch the half demon had brought home was the head hanging from the ceiling where it had been mounted if only to keep it off the floor. There was a clear trail of dried blood and fur that lead off into the woods, but it was all too late to follow the creature that had stolen their meal.

The meat was gone and the cupboard nearly bare, with supper time fast approaching, Deidara offered to hunt down another main course if only to avoid having to clean up the mess that had become their kitchen.

After some convincing and a scan of their property for the Uchiha's energy, Inuyasha released his lover into the darkening woods in search of food, gathering rags and water himself to attempt to clean the massacre in their home.

"Head south, kid. I think there are like a hundred rabbits hiding around ten minutes from here. Don't be too long alright?"

Deidara gave his lover a nod, a peck and a playful pat on the rump as he headed out the door, mounting his favorite belt across his hips, a bag of explosive clay on either side and a few Kunai tucked into the loops in the front. It took the seasoned ninja just under ten minutes to arrive in the southern field where Inuyasha had said there would be rabbits and as he scanned the meadow, the ninja's jaw went a little slack. What the half demon might have forgotten to mention was that the open grasslands were home to two different kinds of rabbits: standard bunnies, and demon hares the size of Labradors. Deidara only gritted his teeth and drew one of his throwing knives, determined not to be unnerved by the animals that looked more like small kangaroos than rabbits.

But even with the hunter standing before them, the normal bunnies simply moved to the feet of their larger counterparts, the monsters standing unfazed. Deidara smirked at their bravery, or their ignorance. Either way would spell at least a few of the creatures' dooms.

As began processing his attack, three of the demons looked to their rear, noticing another being approaching the scene from the opposite side of the field. Again, the rabbits huddled under their protectors and the demons simply watched the two men with blank expressions. It was hard to make out the new arrival, but as soon as he stepped form the tree line, the familiar feeling froze over Deidara's heart again.

His hands balled into fists and he gritted his teeth, staring down the other ninja with anger boiling in his stomach. The blonde man's hand immediately darted to his belt and as it first dove for a hunting knife, his grasp came up short and he reconsidered taking up the blade. Instead his fingers quickly unzipped the pouch of explosive clay on his right side, taking in a mouthful of the clumpy substance and beginning to chew carefully. In the meantime, the younger ninja turned to square off against his present adversary, taking a strong stance in opposition to Itachi.

"I thought I told you to never come back here un." His voice was firm but cold; he wouldn't spit acid like his lover so tended to do. "You do realize that since you ignored what I told you, I will become violent if you come any closer. This is Inuyasha's land and you are trespassing un."

"I can accept that. I just hope you can hear me from all that way over there. I intend to speak with you this time." Standing perfectly still, Itachi's cloak swayed with the wind, the demon rabbits paying him no mind.

"Then speak quickly and be on your way, I've got dinner to make and I won't be kept long un." Deidara made a quick, sweeping gesture with his arm as if to shoo the raven-haired man away like an unruly bird pecking at his garden.

"I want you back home, kintori. Ever since you left home, I haven't slept right. That space in my bed is cold, and I can't go a moment without thinking about you." Itachi knew it was tremendously different to speak in such a vulnerable manner, but his words were not false. He had not stopped thinking about Deidara since he lost his eye to the hanyou mate, but his thoughts were not of loneliness and wanting, but of anger and revenge. "Kintori… I need you back."

"Huh," Deidara chuckled to himself and looked down, rather arrogantly, observing his palm chewing at the clay, prepared to use it should things take a turn for the worse. "Oh Itachi… you of all people ought to know that will never happen un." He looked up, feeling empowered in speaking to the other ninja who had nearly rolled over and showed his soft underbelly to the blonde. "Here stands a man who, after years of use and mistreatment finally escaped and found something that he never got in all those years of being held prisoner. Love un. And here's the sadistic devil who would dare ask him to return to hell and play whore again." With a smirk on his lips, finding humor in the painful truth, Deidara looked down again such that golden tresses and shadows hid his face. "Itachi… I don't care how miserable you are without me. I would sooner die than return to you un."

"But you would be returning with me, Deidara. I see it. I see that way that dog looks at you. I understand the way you two feed off each other's needs. But you don't belong here. This isn't your world and you know that. If you come with me, we can go back. But not to how it was. It's different now. I'm… I'm different." He calmly tucked a thread of hair behind his ear. "I've seen you changed. For the better, and I'm glad. You're so strong now. Stronger than that mongrel that feeds off of your kindness." The Uchiha paused, affixing Deidara in his gaze. "He's nothing more than a leech. I've gathered enough to see that he's nothing but a dog that needs his head scratched and his bowl filled, and to think that he uses your body disgusts me. It's different now with me. You are not a slave. You are an equal, always have been, and for how I have treated you…" The older male tried to swallow the bile rising in his stomach. Being this… sentimental, this weak, sickened him to his core, but he had to get sympathy from Deidara, even pity at this point.

"I'm… I'm sorry."

All the while Itachi spoke, his words caused more and more anger to well up in the other man's gullet, tightening his throat and forcing his fists to strengthen their grip. When the elder had finished pleading his case, still Deidara refused to look him in the face, keeping his eyes trained on the ground if only to keep from looking upon the Uchiha with hatred the way Inuyasha did. There was a rumbling in the ground, and all at once earth exploded upwards from underneath Itachi's feet, a great clay snake tearing upward and coiling around him. Finally blue eyes met red ones as Deidara found himself unable to continue suppressing his rage, his hot-headed nature driving him to lash out as much as his conscience urged him otherwise.

"You," he spat, taking a step towards the trapped shinobi, "you come into this time, my _home_ and you have the gall to wag your forked tongue here un?" He wasted no time in throwing a punch at the trapped man's jaw, forcing the pain and anger back on him in an uncharacteristically cruel manner. "You can say what you want about me, I can take your bark… but the second you badmouth Inuyasha…?" The younger man's cerulean eyes were burning with fury, the likes of which Itachi hadn't seen before so used as he was to Deidara's look of fear and submission. "I. Love. Him." His eyes narrowed threateningly and his lips narrowed into a thin line. "What goes on between he and I is none of your business. You are not welcome here, Itachi. I suggest you leave before I lose my temper again un."

"Your feelings for that creature I cannot help, but my feelings for you cannot change either, no matter how angry you get. Beat me if you must, I understand, but don't expect me to silently let that… that cur use you. He doesn't care for you the way you need him to. He's an animal, used to blind loyalty. He doesn't know real love, just what he needs and how to get it. I care about you more than you'll ever realize, and I can't be silent at your expense. Look at me! I have done what you said, not once raising a hand to you. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"How dare you un?" Again Deidara's knuckles met with the other man's jaw, silencing him. "You don't know anything about Inuyasha and you will not speak of him like that else I will cut out your tongue un! Nothing you can say or do will make up for what you did to me un! There is nothing in this world that can take back every time you forced me! There is nothing in my heart for you un, but if you keep insulting Inuyasha there will be something and that is hate!" He took a good, firm hold of the jet-black tresses on the left side of Itachi's head, forcing their eyes to meet so he could glare into those sad, scarlet eyes. "If you truly want to make me happy, you will go back through that well and never return un."

"Sometimes, my kintori," Itachi whispered through the blood now seeping past his lips, "we have to do things for others that won't make them happy, but what are best for them." All at once the clay surrounding his body was set ablaze, heating the clay and causing the chain reaction. At once the snake exploded, pushing back Deidara as he hastily covered his face, scorching his arms in the process. As he tried to recover and locate the other shinobi, something grabbed him from behind by his waist, spinning him around. To his horror he was once again in the arms of his ex-lover, and with injured arms he resisted pushing away. But as he contemplated kicking him in the nanoseconds he had, the raven-hair had already moved. Deidara's mind froze as he felt Itachi's closeness, and finally he realized that that the other man's lips were pressed to his own.

Several things processed at once in the blonde's mind, his subconscious thinking about his escape and the steps in which to carry it out, but in the forefront of his consciousness he processed what was happening between there met faces. He had expected a firm, ravenous kiss that dominated and crushed against his unwanting mouth, but instead… instead it was soft. Even with the urgency to seal their lips before Deidara pulled away, Itachi had concentrated his effort into the gentleness of it all, holding the uke's back tenderly without hard restraint and even fingers nestled into his golden hair, cupping his skull for support. What amazed him more is that though together, Itachi's jaws had not parted, his tongue remaining in its cage of his maw.

When the shock of Itachi's unexpected tenderness finally began to fade, the blatant reality came crashing back over Deidara as the re-realization struck him that the lips pressed to his own were, in fact, undesired. There wasn't a second's pause between this understanding and the blonde's knee digging forcefully into Itachi's stomach. The younger ninja's retaliation was quick and full of rage; as soon as the other man was separated from him, yet another punch landed against the Uchiha's cheek, drawing a pinch of blood out of sheer force.

"How _DARE_ you un?" The offended ninja howled, hoping for some kind of retaliation if only to give him an guiltless excuse to hit the raven-haired man again.

Itachi quietly wiped the trickle away before looking up to the ninja.

"It didn't seem I was getting through to you with words. Action always did speak better to you. I can do this forever Deidara. I'm never one to walk away from something worth my time. I'll keep at this as long as needed. It's what's best… my little bird."

For a long time there was silence before Deidara's toned muscles went slack as if he was giving up. His shoulders slumped and he turned away, ignoring the other man as he sidestepped the ninja. Removing a hunting knife, he quickly put the blade between the eyes of one of the dog-sized demon hares, scattering the rabbits that had been sheltering underneath it. Silently he threw the slain beast over his shoulder as if there was nothing to it and began to leave. Before he quit the clearing, however, he called out without looking over his shoulder.

"Go back to the Akatsuki where you belong un. We're finished here."

Dismay hit the dark shinobi like a wall, and he forced all of his rage into his curling fingers, balling into painful fists.

"I'm not quitting you, Deidara. I'll be back, no matter how long I have to keep coming. I'll be back." Knowing that their meeting had come to an end, the Uchiha pressed his hands into quick hand-signs and fluttered away in his cloud of birds.

Sighing, the artist shook his blonde mop of hair in dismay, not at all wanting to think of Itachi's eventual return. What would it take to get it through that man's thick skull that he was unwanted? It was completely and utterly perplexing; it had to be an insane man who would take being punched in the face, kneed in the stomach and screamed at and still promise to be back. It sent a foreboding chill up Deidara's spine and he adjusted the carcass across his shoulders, quickening his pace towards his home with Inuyasha.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

With claws tapping against the grain of the porch, a fidgeting hanyou looked again out into the field. It had been an hour since he had last seen his lover, and that skies were turning from magenta to violet. He grumbled to himself and looked back to his hand, having carved out a good slice into the wood.

But with the snapping of twigs and the harsh bending of grass in his ear, Inuyasha again glanced at the open space, relieved to find a blonde man walking through with a rather huge kill.

"Bout damn time kid, I was getting-" he began to call out, but with a whiff of human blood and burned flesh he darted across the way, forcing himself to meet the shinobi sooner than by simply waiting.

Looking up, Deidara grunted, heaving his dripping kill from his shoulders and letting the limp demon drop gracelessly to the ground by his side. The blonde wiped a forearm across his mouth and smeared his knuckles against his pants, but didn't feel particularly motivated towards looking up at the worry he knew was in Inuyasha's eyes. He wished the encounter might have gone unnoticed, but Inuyasha's sharp senses wouldn't allow that. Already Deidara was beginning to feel tired from the long conversation he was about to have with his lover, assuring him he was unhurt and insisting to the best of his ability that the hanyou not hunt down Itachi.

Before his anger arose, the first instinct was to tend to the wounds. Even with the struggle of Deidara trying to walk past and return to his home, Inuyasha managed to capture the ninja's arms and inspect them. It was no small burn, with the skin red and tender with the hairs completely burn away; and the hanyou had to take extra measure not to twist his arm oddly and ignite the now dulled pain in the limbs. Flustered and still angry from his battle with Itachi, the blonde snatched his arms away and hurried to the house. His mate rushed after him, stopping to debate leaving the carcass outside and risk losing another dinner to the wild. He finally decided on dragging it in with them, but soon discarded it into the kitchen to go back to fussing over his man.

Each time as Inuyasha tried to get closer and closer to his mate's wounds, however, he was shrugged away, Deidara snapping at him several times how he didn't want to be fussed over. The harsh words fell on deaf ears as the silver-haired man continued to sniff and touch at the scorch marks as if judging their severity. Finally, it seemed the ninja had had enough as he snatched his arm away from the elder man and gave his chest a hearty nudge with his foot.

"Alright, that's enough out of you. Save your concern for when I'm really hurt un."

"Look, let me wrap it at least so it doesn't get infected. What the hell happened anyway? I didn't figure you'd get yourself burned." He crawled away and found a clean rag, tearing it in long strips to hopefully bandage the proud shinobi and at least heal what was left of his already scarred appendages.

"I didn't, you know I'm better with explosives than that un." Struggling vainly against his lover's hands which fought to cover the burn on his arms, Deidara looked away if only to hide the anger that boiled up in his gut, not wanting to appear a hypocrite. "It was that bastard Itachi. He showed up out of nowhere again and when I tried using my clay to restrain him, he ignited it un. I gave him a few good punches to the jaw though… no holding back this time un." The ninja's frown deepened as he remembered the words that Itachi had said. "My pity for the half-blind shell of the former Itachi is fading quickly." Inuyasha nearly flinched away as the words were spat in a caustic tone of voice; it was strange to hear the normally self-contained blonde speaking with such fire on his tongue.

"I ought to tear his arms off so he can see what it feels like… You really hit him that hard?" Tying off the first knot, Inuyasha took a small bowl of water and dabbed it lightly on the remaining wound, pulling a hiss out through Deidara's teeth. He apologized and tried again, barely touching the flesh. "He better be gone for good then, cause I'm about getting sick of this."

"I wouldn't bet the house on it un," Deidara growled in retort, "he promised he'd be back, but you're not allowed to do any arm-tearing… that's my job now un. I don't care if I'll be straying from the path a little. Itachi's really overstepping his bounds and I'll be damned if I'm not the one to put him back in his place un." The young shinobi's fists clenched as if in anticipation of throwing another punch at the enemy. "Next time I'll break his jaw un."

"What's gottin into you? I mean I like that your finally seeing that he's a bastard and all… but what happened? You're really worked up..." Inuyasha's shoulders stiffened and he pulled tight on the last knot of the bandages. "What did he do?"

"What does it matter what he did?" the ninja snapped, jerking his head to pin the hanyou in a fierce glare as if he was seeing Itachi in his place. "He's crossed the line and it's gonna be _me_ he'll be answering to from now on un! I'm not going to hide behind you, I'm going to show that weasel he can't treat me like some kind of whore who will swoon at his touch un! I'll put out his other damned eye if I have to un!"

"'Swoon at his'- what the _fuck_ are you talking about? Did he pull something? I swear I'm gonna rip him to shreds," the silver hanyou growled, leaving the other's side to pace along the front porch, slamming doors behind him without truly closing them. He was of no use to anyone when he got like this, pure anger and frustration clouding his thoughts, but with venting to the air and quick movements like stomping around he could somehow calm enough to think things through.

Groaning in exasperation, Deidara followed, not knowing why it was he didn't just count his blessings that Inuyasha had quit fussing over his burns. He took a hold of the shoji and parted it just enough to poke his head out onto the porch and watch Inuyasha's enraged pacing.

"You don't need to have a melt-down un. I put a knee in his gut before he could try anything he would _really_ regret. Keep throwing fits like this though and I'll start to get the impression you don't think I can take care of myself un."

Looking over to him, the hanyou couldn't help but deflate. Just that look that the artist made that said he questioned Inuyasha's confidence in the blonde always made the mutt calm down; knowing that he was getting worked up for nothing and whatever it was could easily be handled by Deidara.

"Yeah, alright…" the sliver-hair sighed. His mate smiled at his success in distressing the situation, and the elder even returned to the door, touching his forehead to that of the blonde's. Deidara sighed, feeling his own hackles lower in the comfort of Inuyasha's closeness. There was something about that man's constant, unfaltering devotion that seemed to soothe the ninja like music to a child. He blinked slowly, meeting Inuyasha's eyes with his own and letting their gazes become affixed as if both men were hypnotized by one another.

Slowly Deidara leaned his body back into the house, letting his movement lead his lover back inside and to the kitchen were the great rabbit still waited to be prepared. Without lustful intentions, the half-breed's hands found their way slightly under the blonde's shirt, holding his lower sides and nosing his way to that bomber's shoulder.

Without being able to suppress a laugh, the artist nuzzled back, drinking in the scent of Inuyasha's still slightly damp hair and loving his pungent musk. The blonde's left hand found its way to the half demon's pointed ear and took the soft cartilage between his fingers, rubbing the shell softly in a way he knew the elder to enjoy. Finally it felt like Deidara could breathe a sigh of relief, the situation having been defused and allowing him to usher in an evening free of the stress of the day.

Working his way back up, Inuyasha planted soft pecks against his mate's moist skin, reaching his jaw quickly. Deidara turned his head to invite the true kiss, and it was accepted wholeheartedly. As the hanyou's tongue slipped past his lips to enter the waiting mouth before him, he taste buds rolled over the hard, cracked lips, moistening them back to their normal softness. But as the flavor entered and decoded in his senses, a shiver went up his spine and his stomach clenched.

Why did Deidara taste like Itachi?

Unable or unwilling to sense the sudden shift in his lover, the blonde parted his lips, taking the playful licking as a request for entrance. When the hanyou hesitated the younger nipped at the protruding tongue, turning their kiss into more of a game while his hand moved from Inuyasha's ear to the back of his head.

But just as their love play began it was halted by a quick jerk from the eldest player, yanking his hands away from the slender body of the other man to wipe his sleeve against his tongue. Deidara gave a harsh glare at him, offended by the disgust on his lover's face. But the mutt continued to lick his robe, trying in vain to dispel the repulsive taste.

"What's the matter with you un? If you were still mad you could have just said so, you don't have to act like some stupid kid un." With a low grunt in the back of his throat, the younger man folded his arms across his chest as if waiting for an explanation.

Inuyasha's eyes snapped back to the other man's, shock freezing his face.

"Stupid kid? Don't fucking stand there and act like I did something wrong! I can't even- I can't even look at you!" He actually turned and ran his tongue again along his sleeve. "I can't believe you! How the fuck could you- I mean he fucking burned you and-what the hell- I can't- I can't even stay here. I can't deal with this Dei." He started towards the door, only knowing how to run from such a horrible situation and deal with it later rather than now.

There must have been some foolish surge in anger-fueled testosterone that blinded Deidara to reason for a moment and before he could stop himself he was launching through the air after the hanyou. With a loud grunt, the ninja landed square against the elder man's shoulder blades, wrapping his arms around Inuyasha's chest and tackling the infuriated half-breed off the porch and to the ground.

"What the fuck is wrong with _me?_ I'm not the one running away here! Now tell me what the bloody shit it is you're talking about un!" In the rush of the scuffle, Inuyasha threw his elbow to escape the clutches of the shinobi, knocking him powerfully in the chest, throwing the human to the ground and winding him.

Before Deidara could even bring himself to sit up, his lover was on his feet, looming over him.

"I can't just stand around and act all calm when I know you've been kissing that- that… BASTARD! What the hell is wrong with you! He almost kills you and now you're kissing him!"

The blonde man looked stunned for a moment, dazed by the accusations flying from the man he adored most. To a sense it hurt, like the words dug a knife into him and twisted and for a moment Deidara could only flinch away until the actual fight with Itachi came roaring back into his mind. Shaking his head to clear it, the artist sat up and returned his glare back at Inuyasha, finding new anger against the man who falsely blamed him.

"_Me?_ You think it was _me_ who kissed _him_ un?" In a flash the younger man had scrambled to his feet, standing tall to defend his honor, even against the one he loved. "I can't believe you would mistrust me like that un," he hissed. "Remember when I said I tried to restrain him with clay and he detonated it and that's how I got the burns? As the smoke was clearing, he came up on me and _he_ kissed _me_, but the second I realized it I kicked him off I swear un! I'm the _kissee_ not the _kisser_ here un!"

"But you KISSED! You just- I mean…. uuuuh!" He threw his hands up and turned, hating the idea of screaming into his man's face. There was no way he could bring himself to act rationally, so simply avoiding the problem was his only option. "I- I just need to think. I'll be back."

"It was kiss-rape Inuyasha you dolt un!" Deidara hollered furiously after the half demon as he turned and darted off into the woods. In his anger, the shinobi scooped a stone off of the ground and hurled it after his mate, but by the time the rock landed in the forest, the hanyou had vanished into the thick tangle of trees. With an exasperated huff, the artist yanked at his own hair and threw his hands in the air before turning back to the house, stomping up the couple of stairs before slamming the shoji door behind himself.

Hours passed before the hanyou stopped, letting himself finally break and let go off all of his anger at once. Being a physical brute, his claws met with many a branch and stone, tearing into anything he could tear into. He scratched and cursed and screamed until splinters dug under his nails and bled. He curled his arms in around his head and slumped into the dirt, nestling himself amongst the tree's roots.

What the hell was happening? Why did their perfect little world have to go to hell so quickly? Inuyasha knotted his bloody fingers into his hair, growling ferociously to himself.

"I should have killed him. I should have fucking killed him. When he was lying there I should have smashed his head in, but… dammit. Why does Deidara have to go and let him live? If anyone should hate him it should be…" Come to think of it, why was it that he was the only one willing to put an end to their suffering? With Itachi out of the way, their lives would go back to their blissful ways.

Maybe… maybe Deidara didn't' want it to go back to normal. He had never said it aloud, but Inuyasha figured there was some sense of forgiveness the shinobi had for his former comrade. But was there something else? The mutt's arms came down slowly, his eyes widening at the thought. Could he… could there still be something there? With all of the pain and abuse the Uchiha had made the blonde endure, Inuyasha assumed that any form of love had vanished and fear had only held the pair together. But assumptions could always be wrong.

Back in the house, said blonde was busy relieving his stress through menial chores, following the well ingrained notion that any kind of work done, if done correctly only betters the self. He'd spent the first couple hours skinning and cleaning the hare, separating out a flank to be eaten for supper while salting and hanging the rest to keep the meat from spoiling. The skin he took outside, stretching the hide across the back porch and treating it with the creatures own brains as a source of emulsified oils used in tanning. He wasn't sure if or when the hide would come in handy, but at the very least it might be traded for a few bags of rice in the marketplace. Still Deidara busied his hands, waiting to start cooking the flank of rabbit once Inuyasha decided to return.

All the while he worked, the younger man tried not to think of his argument with Inuyasha, mainly because the whole thing left him baffled and offended. How could the man he'd devoted himself to for the past year all at once accuse him of having an affair with Itachi? It was an outrage! Sure, he still felt empathy for the other ninja, knowing that he would always be a cruel, manipulative man, and now even more that he was so physically weakened; but that didn't mean he rightly _cared_ for Itachi. Still, the action of his hands helped keep Deidara distracted from becoming angry with Inuyasha's wrongful accusation.

Several miles away, Inuyasha had slunk out of his anger into a sad state, and for another time in his life he felt tears welling in his eyes. Alone he sat contemplating any fathomable reason Deidara would ever have feelings for an evil like Itachi. He was of the likes of Naraku, feeding off of other's pain and misery, and any creature to fall in love with such a force was blind and stupid. But Inuyasha knew his Deidara wasn't stupid. A whole year's time had taught him so much about the man, his strength and courage, and of his undying ability to love. Maybe that was it. He was such a great man that he couldn't help but still feel something. The hanyou sighed and picked another splinter from his finger. Maybe it wasn't a grand feeling like they had created over their wonderful year together, but having lived by the side of another for so long leaves its marks in a person, and Inuyasha couldn't fault him in that. After so long you either have to create something or not feel at all, and from his normal sunny disposition he had to conclude that Deidara had made due with the hell that he was given.

The mutt laid his head back against the bark of one of several damaged trees, vengefully scrapping into the back of his skull. All he really need to know was how much of a feeling was left, and if it was a true threat to his love for him. Thinking back, he had to admit he still cherished his short time with Kikyo and Kagome both, and considered Deidara's situation to be a similar one. Not forgotten but set aside for another love. There were too many options that could potentially explain their condition, so with his theories in mind he removed the last of the painful wood and cracked his knuckles, facing back to the route to his home.

Nightfall had set in heavily in Inuyasha's absence, yet dinner had not been put off long enough for the younger of the two men to starve. After the moon had begun its languid climb into the evening sky, Deidara had finally given up the wait for the hanyou and prepared a hearty rabbit stew, feeding himself and leaving what remained to simmer atop the potbelly stove full of dying embers. With a sense of failure and exhaustion, the shinobi trudged off to bed, stripping down and burying himself under the sheets. As angry as Inuyasha had been when he'd stormed off, there was no telling when he'd be back, but all the same, there was a single lantern lit and hanging from the front porch to guide the hanyou home.

Late into the night the hanyou found the pathway to the front of their home, taking his time with walking over each stone to bring him home. What now? He wanted everything to go back to how it was, no Itachi, no doubt. But sadly he knew another fight would ensue if he entered the house, so instead he opted for a restful sleep for the two of them and choose the outdoors. Careful not to let the wood creak under his feet, Inuyasha walked around to the back porch, dangerously close to where Deidara was sleeping. He was happy to hear a slow, even breathing emitting from the bedroom, his mate already having fallen asleep. He leaned himself against the support beam and stretched out, looking out to the moons glow and wondering how he could ever fix the disaster that had befallen his world.

In the humid summer night into the gray hours past midnight, the temperature dropped as the sun spent its later hours warming the other side of the earth. Outside insects sang to the moon overhead, filling the thick air with buzzing and humming that annoyed the light-sleeper's ear. As easily as the worn out ninja had fallen asleep after a good meal, he did not stay unconscious throughout the night. With a bit of a chill in his feet, the blonde was stirred awake by the yearning of his body for more warmth. And so it became like it always was with Deidara; he found himself unable to get any rest without the heat of his lover's body and the lull of his lover's breathing nearby.

Sitting up, the artist was about to fetch a thicker blanket from the trunk in the corner of the bedroom, but looking up he felt warmer already as he recognized his lover's distinct shadow cast against the eastern shoji. The moon was bright, half full and slowly waning, and it slipped its narrow fingers of light though little cracks between the wood, shedding a few silver beams onto the floor at Deidara's feet. Pulling himself out of bed, the younger man crossed to the back shoji as silent as an owl in flight, sliding the screen aside to reveal the slumbering hanyou, slumped against one of the porch's support beams. It warmed Deidara's heart to know that as always, Inuyasha had come back and he moved to stand beside his lover, reaching down to stroke the half breed's head in hopes of waking him gently.

Immediately a hand came to swat at the invading annoyance, and only when Deidara continued playfully rousing him did the hanyou sit straight up, noisily snorting before opening his eyes. Still heavy form unconsciousness, he looked around lazily until he located the source, a dazed look drowning in his eyes.

"Mmm what er you doin' up, kid?"

"It's cold out," came the shinobi's murmured reply as slowly he began to comb his fingers through his lover's silver tresses in a gentle, soothing action. "Why don't you come inside… the bed's too cold without you un."

Inuyasha sighed sleepily, and began undoing the ties to his outer robe. With a curious look on his lover's face the hanyou shrugged off his red robe and handed it to him, the shinobi taking it.

"Wrap up n' this, Dei, it'll make you toasty for sure," he muttered softly, not a trace of malice in his lethargic speech. Instead he spoke as a caring lover still looking out for his better half's needs.

"You know what would really keep me warm un?" Deidara murmured, putting his hand on top of the fire-rat robe as if to deny it "having your arms around me… you make the best blanket un." With that, the younger man took a firm hold of Inuyasha's wrist, giving it a vain tug as if to pull the hanyou to his feet.

But the half-demon remained seated, taking back his hand and placing it over his lap.

"Not tonight Dei… this is all way too confusing, and I just… I think we might need some time. Not forever, but maybe until morning. This whole Itachi thing has messed me up."

"Inuyasha…" the younger man whispered, feeling himself deflate before finally he fell to his rump beside the other man, looking up at his mate with longing and sadness in his eyes. "You… you have to believe me when I tell you, that kiss was very, very unwanted un… but I don't know what to do to make it better… I want to make you happy un. What can I do?"

"I- I don't know… Everything's… wrong, and I don't know how to make it right. Not tonight at least." He bowed his head, his mind too bogged down with his troubles to keep it up. He felt Deidara's arms wrap around his shoulders and lean his chest against the mutt's spine, wrapping his body to cover his lover's back. It was a familiar embrace; one that always comforted him, so he at least placed a hand over the blonde's to show the gesture wasn't ignored.

"Then why don't we leave all this to be figured out some other time, and just pretend like things aren't so wrong right now un? At least until morning…" The younger man rested his chin on Inuyasha's shoulder and leaned his head to the side slightly so that his temple rested against the half demon's jaw. "You know now that I'm up, I won't be able to sleep without you un…"

The hanyou huffed, closing his eyes slightly.

"So you just want a warm body, huh? Alright, I'll come in." Standing up and letting Deidara fall off his back, the silver-hair walked through the open door aloofly, removing his other robe and laying himself out amongst the sheets.

"Now you know that's not what I meant un." Picking himself up the blonde crossed into the room and sat himself next to his mate, placing a firm hand against the hybrid's shoulder blade, trying to turn him over to face him.

"It's whatever kid, I'm tired."

"Are you _too_ tired un?" the younger man asked coyly, gently squeezing the half breed's shoulders in his hands, massaging the tense muscles with his strong palms as if to soften his lover up to the idea of staying up a little later.

Knowing he had to snub out the fire before he got burned, the elder rolled over and met his lustful lover's eyes, giving him a tired and stoic gaze.

"Deidara… it's been a long day. A few days ago everything was fine and now your ex-partner who I despise shows up, and you come home reeking of him and have him on your lips, and now you want me to have sex with you." He paused. "This isn't giving you a good look right now, kid. Maybe we should just sleep."

For that instant, Deidara felt as if his heart had turned to ice and he nearly flinched away from the bitter words. He looked down, disheartened and slightly ashamed, though he knew in the pit of his gut there was nothing to be ashamed of, weather Inuyasha believed it or not, Itachi's lips had been unwelcomed. He leaned forward until his forehead pressed solemnly against the other man's shoulder, staying like that for what felt like ages before he finally spoke.

"I'm… I'm sorry un… I wasn't… fast enough… I didn't see it coming, but I should have un. I should have been able to dodge him. I should have been able to stop him un, but I let my guard down too far and I'm sorry. I'll do whatever it takes; I'll trainer harder and longer, get faster, stay more alert… I can't let that happen again un…"

Gradually at first Inuyasha turned his head back, but then let the rest of his body roll over and actually face the other man. He held Deidara's chin before it could lay against him again, and he studied the ninja's face.

"So this whole Itachi thing… nothing, right? Just a mistake."

With a saddened look in his eyes, the artist looked away before closing his eyes.

"It was an err on my part, but it wasn't nothing… it was awful un, and I swear to you, from now on I will do everything in my power to make sure it never happens again un."

Satisfied, the hanyou took his free arm and wrapped it over Deidara's body, pulling him to his chest and nestling his chin among golden tresses once again. It was good to feel the man's hands pressed against his chest, and his heated breath warmed his neck in such a loving manner. He wanted to stay like that for hours, but yet again he knew his lover wanted more.

All Inuyasha's closeness made the younger man's body heat up suddenly in excited hope. Closing his eyes and wishing that the other man had loosened up a bit from his frigid shut-down earlier, Deidara dared to press his lips against the half demon's shoulder, giving the muscle a firm kiss before moving to repeat the action just a centimeter away. Smiling comfortably, all seemed well for the evening and he decided that a thrilling end to their day was fine by him. But the younger man had said he wanted to make up for what had happened…

Inuyasha uncurled himself from around his lover and lay back, tugging on the artist's forearm, directing him to place himself on top. Hesitating for a moment, Deidara finally rolled with the hanyou's tugging, finding himself lying on top of his lover, their warm skins pressed together in all the right places. The younger man let out a sultry purr, finding satisfaction in the new situation simply though Inuyasha's willingness to comply. With half-lidded eyes, the artist gave his partner a smoldering look as his index finger took to tracing aimless patterns across the elder man's collarbone.

"I take it this means you're not too tired un?"

"Never too tired. Now why don't you help me forget about today- make me forget about him. You think you can do that for me?" the man ran his rough palms over the bombers biceps, his fingertips smoothing over the deformed section and pressing into the wrinkled, damaged flesh.

"I think I can manage something," the blonde replied, chuckling to himself before leaning down to connect his mouth with that of his lover. Still, just before they kissed for the first time since the brouhaha had boiled over; Deidara came up short, drawing away until he looked Inuyasha squarely in the eyes. "I hope you don't mind un, but I gargled hare's blood after you left to get the taste out of my mouth un… though I'm sure any taste is better than _that_ un." With his warning out, the ninja didn't hesitate in mashing his lips against Inuyasha's, letting out a heavy, contented sigh as if anticipating the alleviation of his most recent stresses.

He indeed tasted the blood, but it had long faded back into the pungent taste of Deidara, the masculine taste swirling against his palette as their tongues danced their usual tango. No, not like their sweet ballets as they showed blissful love, but the fiery, passionate struggle of dominance inside their connected maws. Inuyasha held onto his lover's arms, letting the other man take charge of their play but not allowing himself to be lost in the game.

Grunting to show the pleasure he got from the wet friction between them, Deidara's fingers found their way into the other man's silver hair, tangling with the tresses and taking a firm hold. Pure, simple and wild; the ninja absolutely loved the way Inuyasha kissed. Sure when they had first met, the half demon lacked experience in the art of lovemaking, but as their time together wore on, his skill increased until every time they found themselves intertwined, the younger man nearly went crazy with want. Of course it wasn't just the hanyou's actions that made Deidara desire, his body was like something out of a fantasy. Inuyasha was perfectly shaped and his skin was always warmed by the hot blood that coursed through the half demon's veins. His hair was full of the scents of the forest; no matter how many times he washed it, those silver tresses clung to the odor of leaves and rain. It all mixed together beautifully and only caused the young artist to want to feel his lover all the more when things got intimate.

"Ah… Inu…" Deidara broke off their burning kiss for a moment if only to keep his face an inch from the hanyou's and lock eyes passionately with the other man. "What would you like un?" He nuzzled and kissed at the half breed's jaw, humming contentedly and letting his breath come in hot against Inuyasha's neck. "I'll do anything for you un…"

The invitation made an icy surge pulse up his spine, slightly bending him into his mate's body. It was hard to resist such a willing offer, and as always he had to try to control himself. Even through his exhaustion, the inner demon roused and took the bait, chomping at the bit to have his way with the young man. But even with tiredness weighing him down, Inuyasha suppressed the primal urge and kissed softly back into the blonde's mouth.

"Think you can do that thing we tried the other morning? I really love you in my lap like that."

Closing his eyes, Deidara remembered two mornings back when he and the half breed had tried a new position for the first time with an explosive result. With the younger's body folded over across his thighs, Inuyasha had simply pounded against the shinobi's prostate until the flexible young man was howling with pleasure. The memory made Deidara's mouth go dry as the image danced in his head, making his wanting groin ache just a little more for the pleasure of his mate's touch.

"Like I said," the blonde purred after taking a moment to compile his thoughts, "I'll do anything for you un."

Grinning with anticipation, the hanyou sat the artist up, finding him to be straddling his waist. He gently pushed him back until his shoulders hit the soft bedding, and the mutt quickly pulled his legs out from underneath to take care of the cloth baring his access to Deidara. With the blonde stretched out beneath him, Inuyasha was free to tease and taunt, using only his teeth to remove the loose shorts the shinobi had slipped on to sleep in.

The ninja couldn't keep down a shiver of excitement, even as the cool air met with his warm flesh and goosebumps rose up on his anxious skin. With the hanyou locked in his gaze and his only clothing discarded, the blonde man propped himself up on his elbows and opened his legs invitingly, wanting to convey a message of eagerness if only to hasten his lover.

Swift as he could, Inuyasha scooped up Deidara's legs into each arm, bringing his face down to swallow up his lover in a wild move, wanting to start off their night together vociferously rather than delicately. Before the blonde could even catch a breath his mate had taken the tip of his manhood in and began sucking greedily, running his tongue down the underside of his shaft and pressing the point of his tongue back up it.

Taken by surprise, the younger man arched his back and threw his head into the sheets, his hands flying to take up fistfuls of Inuyasha's long, silver tresses. The sound of pleasure that threatened to erupt from Deidara's lungs caught in his throat, leaving him only able to gasp quietly in response. Like a voracious carnivore tucking into its prey, the half demon began the action quickly and astonishingly efficiently, working his mouth against the hot, swollen flesh of his lover and bobbing his head slightly to give pleasure to the sensitive organ.

He even growled into the cock, bringing the pleasure of his vibrations rattling up his member. Inuyasha scraped his claws teasingly against the top of Deidara's thighs, raising pink streaks against his tan skin. But as the member became rock hard in his jowls, he released it unannounced and moved lower, tracing the tip of his tongue against the ring of muscle of the shinobi's anus. Not to completely abandon the twitching organ, Inuyasha draped the ninja's left leg over his right shoulder and gripped the cooling member, reheating the slick saliva incasing it with sever pumps.

With a shrill yelp of surprise and bliss, the younger man arched his spine and curled his toes, feeling his anxiousness boiling in the pit of his stomach as the half demon's searing tongue traced around the outside of his entrance. He could feel the anticipation building up until the tight muscle twitched with every beat of the shinobi's pounding heart, almost as if silently begging to be filled. His thighs trembled and his spine quivered and the ninja nearly held his breath while he waited, wordlessly pleading his mate to stretch him in that intimate, sexy way, with his tongue rather than his fingers.

"Oh Inuyasha un…"

His canine ear twitched to the words, stopping only long enough to press the man's knees to his chest. Taking his lover's hands, he placed them over his kneecaps, mutely instructing him to hold his legs in place. Even with his limbs folded into chest, Deidara spread his calves apart, mewing helplessly against his need for his lover's touch. With the artist's ass unobstructed, the hanyou again plunged into his work, darting his tongue out and rimming his hole. After a few seconds of teasing, he forced his muscle past the relaxing ring, tasting the inside of his man's orifice.

The younger man's breathing hitched and a sharp cry caught up in his lungs, sounding more like a very tight sigh. With the hanyou's slippery muscle wriggling its way inside of him, the blonde had to force his lower body to relax and allow the tongue to delve deeper within him. He bit his lip and swallowed a needy whine as he felt the tight opening beginning to stretch though the muscle remained slightly slack from the night before. Not that he didn't like the feeling of his lover's tongue pushing deeper into his most personal cavern, but the feeling only made him want to have the hanyou's shaft replacing the soft muscle all the more.

Toying with the hole, he went through a series of different tongue movements, from rolling it into a perfect 'O' to flattening it back out. All the while he could hear his mate moaning and sighing softly, trying his best not to erupt in lusty wails. Inuyasha would have been somewhat oblivious to his needs, but his hands gave it all away. Since his mouth had touched his sensitive hole, Deidara's fingers had been knotted in his mane, tugging urgently as if he would die without their physical love. His palm hands had begun to drool with fervor, damping the hanyou's head in the process. So with almost all the preparations set in place, the hybrid freed his mouth from its servitude, Deidara looking up dependently for an answer as to why he stopped. But this was not a night of words, and the elder simply smiled and pulled his mate up against him for a warm embrace, running his hands hungrily over the bomber's flawless back.

The younger man let out a long, low breath like a shivering sigh, his fingers tightening in his lover's hair with anticipation. As the half demon had lifted him to press against him, the blonde was careful to bend his knees and set his feet behind himself until he was sitting in his mate's lap, looking at Inuyasha with eyes swimming with anxiousness, and lust.

A dribble of pre-cum had already leaked over the head of Inuyasha's manhood, and he quietly rubbed his clenched hand over his length to coat the hot member. Deidara caught the action from the edge of his eye, letting one hand detangle from his lover's tresses and dive into their connected laps. His hand quickly shooed the other away and replaced it, instead guiding the orifice that occupied it to swallow up the hard thing. With a few strokes the shinobi thoroughly lubed up Inuyasha, leaving the hanyou with heavy breathing and already collecting sweat across his brow. As the last of the groundwork was completed for their love connection, the mutt placed his hands on either side of his mate's hips, lifting him up and holding him over his awaiting cock.

The younger man bit his lip and shivered a bit as he slowly began to lower himself until the scalding hot tip of the hanyou's member pressed firmly against his anxious hole. With a quiet gasp, the blonde bit his lip and cautiously moved his hips, grinding the head against his puckered anus for a moment before lowering himself little by little. Deidara whined and screwed his eyes shut as gradually his lover's member slipped past his ring of muscle, bringing its thick heat into his most sacred place. Inuyasha clutched the younger man tight to his chest, allowing the shinobi to wrap his arms around his lover's neck and bury his face in the elder man's collarbone as he bit back the fresh pain of having his rear stretched.

Of course with the tightness of his lover's insides clamping around his prepared member, Inuyasha wanted nothing more than intensify the feeling by lowering him completely down and forcing him to take in his whole length. But for the sake of the younger man's body he only bit his lips and let he lover control how much he could handle. Sure enough after he became accustomed to the girth the blonde lowered himself gradually until he had reached his limit, crushing the head of the hanyou's cock against his sensitive male gland.

The sensation made Deidara's body jerk suddenly, his spine arching in his lover's arms and a low moan tearing from his throat. Finding himself suddenly craving nothing but that wonderful feeling, the ninja rocked his hips just barely yet rather quickly, producing a kind of continuous pleasure as his he ground the hot little organ against the half demon's head. His grip on Inuyasha's shoulders tightened and his fingernails dug fruitlessly into the half demon's slick shoulder blade. With a shrill whine of pleasure, Deidara's face contorted into an expression of bliss and carnal desire, wanting nothing less than more.

Inuyasha bit harder into his lip and he sighed as blood pooled around his fang as it pierced the flesh. He needed to learn to stop doing that, but it couldn't be helped as he feebly tried to lick it away before it dribbled down his chin. Content with how comfortable his mate had become to enclosing around his hard cock, the hybrid removed his hard grip of the hips surrounding his lap and moved them to Deidara's shoulder blades, and letting their bodies move together he leaned forward, gently situating Deidara on his back and allowing him to wiggle until he lay comfortably over the half-breed's outstretched legs. Inuyasha gave a gracious scatter of wet kisses to his partner's abs before setting himself up, taking in the sight of the shinobi laid above his legs and gripping tight to the elder's knees for support. He unquestionably loved this view, the beautifully sculpted torso of the blonde nestled wonderfully before him and the look of pure want painted across his lips and eyes as he looked up to his mate.

Taking a silent moment to suppress his own wanting if only a little, the younger man closed his eyes and reached upwards with his hands until he took a hold of Inuyasha's ankles arched his back and pushed his abdominals forward. He waited with tense expectancy for Inuyasha's body to begin rocking and for his wanton body to be set ablaze with the fires of pleasure, but still there was a pause. With a low whine, the shinobi inclined his chin and wriggled between his lover's legs, trying to coax movement from the half demon.

Licking his lip from blood and actual drool at the sight of Deidara's arched spine, the silver-hair swept his arm behind the younger man's back and began thrusting his hips up into his awaiting mate, shaking happy moans and cries of pleasure from the blonde's lungs. As his manhood slipped and slid inside the surprisingly tight cavity, the hanyou curled his toes painfully in the artist's hands, not allowing them to unclench lest he loose the wonderful sensation radiation through his loins.

With every thrust the artist's body lurched just a bit as the half demon rocked their bodies in perfect, carnal unison. Pleasure surged up from the sensitive gland, wracking the course of the younger man's spine and pulsing though every vein in his body. His breathing became matched up with the pushing of his lover as every time Inuyasha crushed against his prostate the ninja gasped and moaned in pleasure, fighting off shockwaves of bliss if only to little effect.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Ah! Inu! Yes! Yes! Inu!" Deidara cried with each thrust, his fingers wrapping all the more tightly around his mate's ankles, squeezing them as if clinging to the appendages for dear life.

Wanting a more powerful connection a free hand was thrown behind the half-demon to push off of the matted lump of sheets, and with the added brace Inuyasha slightly elevated himself and propelled harder against Deidara's consuming hole. With each shove in, the tense ring of muscle took him in so impatiently that after some time the elder thought his member would be sucked inside permanently. And sweet words of adoration turned to incoherent wails of satisfaction, hot perspiration running down every stretch of skin the pair had across their frames.

Deidara's fingers trebled as they sought something of substance to grab ahold of, eventually finding Inuyasha's long tresses yet again. With desperate cries of ecstasy pulling from deep in his throat, the younger man fought desperately to stay the pounding pleasure that threatened to erupt from his arching member so soon into their lovemaking. And yet the feeling was so tremendous that he could hardly keep himself from simply exploding like one of his own magnificent masterpieces.

With the wonderfully agonizing pressure building around Inuyasha's throbbing member he too was at the edge of containing his release, struggling to hold back his instinct to latch onto the soft flesh with claws and fangs and brutally ride out his orgasm. With conflicting thoughts always bothering him during intimacy, Inuyasha's ego was too troubled with mediation to fully enjoy the mind-blowing sex he was experiencing. To calm both demon and human halves he leaned his face to Deidara's chest, clamping his unsharpened teeth onto his sensitive nub and fluctuating between rough licks and suckles of the perked nipple.

Deidara gritted his teeth in a fruitless attempt to quiet his yelps of ecstasy, only forcing himself to howl through his clenched jaw. His head was spinning so fast he was starting to get dizzy from the pleasure that surged through his system, pounding up through his every nerve and filling him from tip to crown with bliss. And still the feeling built up, like pressure in a balloon, and the ninja's balloon was about ready to burst. His fingers gripped tightly at Inuyasha's shoulders, fighting for a hold on the slick skin but all of a sudden, they slipped crashing into the half demon's silver tresses and snagging there. The younger man's back arched and his head flew back as with a throat-tearing moan he finally orgasmed, a wave of hot seed splashing against their chests.

Having taken his lips to Deidara's nipple, the warm cum had shot out and splattered under the hanyou's chin. But even with his mate satisfied the hanyou still awaited his release, not to far behind. With the sore nub still clenched in his jaws, Inuyasha continued to thrust, driving home his pulsing member until he felt his loins buck off rhythm, and his mouth locked up. With teeth clamping around the tiny bit of skin, he pinched it subconsciously and barely broke the skin, a drop of blood hitting his tongue and sending a shockwave through his system. Another wave of ecstasy surged through him, and Inuyasha's claws sank into the flesh they so desperately clung to.

All at once the blonde man's quavering, blissful moan turned into a pained howl as his lover's claws sunk into his thighs. He shook in the hanyou's grip, tightened his own hold on Inuyasha's silver tresses, yanking the other man's mane and throwing his head back.

With the sound of pain and taste of blood the demon within stirred and pulled tight against its chains, and unfortunately a single link broke. With his high slowly dying, the half-breed rode out the last of his ejaculations and lapped hungrily at the trickle of blood. His nails retracted from their tight grip but still pierced the flesh, and out of Deidara's eye he caught a horrifying sight; gradually twin violet streaks appeared against Inuyasha's cheekbones.

His cry dying into a whimper, the shinobi bit his lip and looked with wide eyes up at his mate. With breath catching in his chest, the blonde man fought off the urge to fight off the demon taking over his lover's mind and body, but with claws still embedded in his thighs, he dared not risk it. Instead he became quiet and motionless, hoping that with its prey refusing to play the brute would lose interest and retreat into the back of his lover's soul.

And as suddenly as the lash out of aggression happened, it dissipated, the tongue of the hanyou withdrawing and leaving the wounded nub be, bar a single apologetic kiss to the tender bud. As the claws vacated the wounds they'd caused, they shook for a moment, the mutt hesitating only long enough to gather himself. But in one rushed motion Inuyasha dove his arms in around Deidara's stiffened body, pulling him up to straddle the silver-hair's lap upright and buried his face into the blonde's moist shoulder. The ninja could hear the dog demon breathe heavily and even gasp into his collarbone, almost as if he had held his breathe for too long.

Closing his eyes and forgetting the pain of his fresh wounds for a moment, Deidara returned the gesture, wrapping his arms loosely around the other man's torso. The younger man's head found the joint of his lover's neck where their bodies fit together snugly and gave a low, contented sigh as he finally relaxed in the half demon's arms. With his warm breath beating gently against Inuyasha's shoulder, the shinobi could almost feel his lover loosening up.

"I love you Inuyasha un," came the blonde's tired murmur, just as it always did shortly after their climax.

Guilt and shame still clung to the hanyou's shoulders, making him slump slightly. Perfectly shaded by the mixture of gold and silver hair, Inuyasha pressed his face into his lover's arm joint and stayed there, trying to hide himself as long as he could manage. He had slipped. He always hated it most when that creature got its way, leaving a bouquet of blood and adrenaline to taunt him in the aftermath.

"Mmmm sorry kid… mmm sorry…"

There was a long pause that made the half breed's heart sink, as if it really took the other man such a long time to decide he was forgiven. What he hadn't been expecting was for a pair of warm lips to press against his neck followed shortly after by a low, rumbling chuckle as if Deidara was too exhausted to laugh aloud.

"Don't be sorry un. It's nothing, really. I'm not some delicate flower you have to mind un. I can handle you… have for this long un."

"Nnnn but I don't like to hurt you." He would have continued to hide had not his partner swept his hair to the other side of his neck and reveal Inuyasha's face for him to see. Cautiously the elder lifted his eyes to meet the others, finding them glazed from their lovemaking and soft for the hanyou's sake. He readjusted his holding on the artist's back, pressing only his fingertips into the slick skin and closing his eyes, mortified.

"Well you beating yourself up about it makes no one happy un…" Deidara cooed softly in his partner's ear, nuzzling softly against the side of the hanyou's head. With a slight grunt the younger of the duo gave Inuyasha's jaw a more firm nudge with the intent of moving his head. "Now come on, let's get some sleep un… I don't know about you but having my mind blown sure makes me tired un." With that he gave the half demon's pointed ear a playful nibble in an attempt to coax him out of his regretful mood.

Before lying down for the night, the pair untangled themselves, Deidara dismounting sorely and flopping back into the mess of sheets. Inuyasha silently laid himself next to the shinobi, leaning his face into the blonde's well-toned chest and wrapping one arm over to hug his body. It wasn't usual for the hanyou to lie on top of his lover, but in this instance and with the exhaustion of them both, the artist sighed contently and allowed the abnormality.

With their togetherness re-established for the evening and their unsettling feud resolved, the pair slept soundly and peacefully against one another all through the night. While the entire outside world seemed to sigh with relief from the heat of the summer sun and the relentless crying of insects marked the only sleepless creatures, still the lovers could not be stirred, wrapped contentedly in each other's arms. As the night waned on, the promise of a more peaceful day danced in the slumbering minds.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Late into the night, the halls of the headquarters carved deep into the side of the mountain in the 18th century of Japan were silent and heavy, although the residents of the hideaway each resided in their optionally soundproof rooms. But one individual brought down the sound barrier to his room, wanting every noise from the dark hallway to echo against his walls. Nothing but the quiet splashing from a running fish tank was heard, and the occupant folded his broad arms crossly.

_He has to come home some time._

When finally the Uchiha made his tired and dejected return to Akatsuki base there was an air of defeat floating around him like a tainted aura. His shoulders slumped and there were places where furious strikes from the younger ninja were beginning to turn his skin sickly shades of plum and green. He sighed and removed the heavy cloak from his back, dragging the black fabric behind him as reluctantly Itachi trudged back to his bedchamber.

As the coat dragged against the ground, it added to the deep footsteps bouncing off the corridor walls. Through the door to his partner's room, the sound alerted the resident immediately and the large shark man stood up from his bed and willed his door open. There wasn't yet a sight of the raven-hair, but already a wafting of his scent came to Kisame, his musk and smells of woods mixing well together. But to his disgust an old scent clung along with it, an old ally long since abandoned on the man's list of priorities. The old bomber member of their organization was placed right alongside Itachi's scent, but by the sound of footsteps his partner was in fact alone.

All in all the Uchiha was feeling exhausted; even for a ninja one's pride taking such a beating was painful and exhausting. He was honestly looking forward to a good, long, well-deserved rest, allowing his brain to recharge and rethink a new approach at winning Deidara back. He was utterly oblivious to the rest of the base's residents, keeping his one good eye trained on his feet as tiredly the raven-haired man trudged toward his room and the prospect of sleep. He didn't even register the massive figure looming before him in the dimly-lit hallway, blocking his path, until the shadow was cast across Itachi's own toes.

"Coming home a bit late, are we Ita-kun?" The blue-hair ground his teeth together, not a common practice with the likelihood of breaking one of his many teeth and the annoyance of trying to avoid swallowing it by mistake. He large arms were crossed before him, making his appearance look even more solid and intimidating. He bared he teeth, and sure enough a single ivory triangle tumbled out of his mouth and 'plinged' against the ground.

"You ought to avoid grinding you teeth, Kisame," Itachi mumbled halfheartedly, moving to the side in hopes of slipping past the other man, "it's a harmful habit." As he tried to sidestep the Mist ninja, however, Kisame stepped into the younger man's path, keeping him from weaseling his way past. With worn irritation in his eyes, Itachi gave an irate snort and glared up at his partner. "Do you mind? I'm exhausted and need to get through."

"First of all, I got more… and you'd know that wouldn't you?" Sneaking in his normal, sly demeanor the juggernaut tapped under Itachi's chin to pop up his head, but it quickly faded back to his original brooding mood. "Second… where the hell have you been?"

Calmly so as to not show his concern for how things were going downhill, Itachi raised his hand and gently moved the elder man's rough, grey-blue skinned hand from his chin.

"I've been on a special espionage mission. You don't have clearance to be told more than that." The Uchiha closed his eyes for a moment and held his breath, hoping like nothing else that Kisame would buy that much and leave him be, however unlikely that outcome really seemed.

And it seemed so as the man simply took Itachi up into his arms and carried him back to the larger man's room, the half-blind shinobi fighting and hissing the entire way. Kisame merely ignored the thrown punches and curses until he reached his bedside, sealing off his room with a heavy jutsu and tossing his worn companion onto the large mattress.

"What do you think you are doing?" Itachi snapped with acid dripping from his voice, "I'm exhausted and sore and I'm not doing this with you now Kisame." The younger ninja's hand went immediately to his hip where he'd been expecting his katana to be belted, but instead he only grasped air. Ice rand through his veins as he remembered the weapon had been left in his room to preserve the appearance of peace before Deidara.

Kisame snickered and traced his finger along the surface of the calm waters of the fish tank, careful not to disturb his pets. He flicked away the excess droplets and quickly crawled onto the bed, encompassing the other man's body to prevent escape.

"Ya know I've had a long day too, and I can't think of a better way to end it. So why don't you stop fussing and be a good boy tonight?" Slowly his enormous fingers closed in around the Uchiha's shirt and began pulling it back to reveal his bare shoulder.

"I'm in no mood for this, Kisame, this is your last warning. Get your paws off me before I have to hurt you." Itachi scowled up at the larger man, trying to appear firm such that the thick-skulled Mist ninja would understand his seriousness.

"_You_ hurt _me_? I didn't know my little minx was so funny." The brute continued to molest the other male, running one sandpaper palm under the shinobi's clothes and the other powerful hand holding Itachi's wrists above his head. In the days before the younger ninja's defeat and loss of his eye, I would be unheard of for Kisame to engage in such an aggressive, forceful manner, practically being the Uchiha's lap dog. But now with almost nothing to overpower the behemoth, control was lost that Itachi so desperately tried to regain with threats. But to his dismay it seemed even a slow thinker like Kisame had figured out there wasn't much backing up his warnings, so if he didn't act now and establish his rank in their partnership, the scene would turn horribly ugly…

In his last-ditch effort, the Uchiha managed to fit his knee between himself and the larger man and with a low grunt, gave him a forceful shove. The placement of the other man's foot threw Kisame off balance, the push sending him off of his partner and throwing him backwards. Before he had a chance to stop himself, the elder man was shoved back into the glass wall of his large aquarium, destroying the fragile barrier and causing glass and frigid water to explode into the room, followed quickly thereafter by five very large, very toxic jellyfish.

The first response would normally have been to capture the creatures in their water with another simple jutsu, but that was forgotten as one of the five wrapped its tentacles around Kisame's thick neck. Instantly the needles inside pierced his flesh and began injecting their toxin, setting his throat on fire. He howled in pain and tore at the animal, in turn stinging his hands.

Taking his opportunity, the half-blind ninja leapt to his feet and jumped over one of the floundering animals on his way towards the door, pressing his palms against the heavy gate and forcing his chakra into the iron lock in an attempt to force it open. All in vain, however, as before the tumblers could be internally reset, a massive hand wrapped around Itachi's ankle, yanking his foot out from underneath the raven-haired man. This caused Itachi to crash face-first onto the flooded floor, only narrowly avoiding breaking his fall with a bed of venomous tentacles.

Kisame finally succeeded in ripping apart the toxic creature and ridding himself of its painful arms, and with the others slowly dying with no hopes of revival he abandoned them, turning disappointment and anger back at the other. The Mist shinobi kicked away the dead bodies of the jellyfish, clearing a space to drag Itachi back to him from across the floor. Clothes soaked and stinking of saltwater, they were ripped away in rage leaving the Uchiha open for his harsh punishment. It was easy enough to hold him in place, and viciously Kisame reached back for a discarded animal, taking its tentacle in hand and ruthlessly laying it across Itachi's bare chest.

Still the elder man had neglected to activate the soundproofing in his room, and the uncensored screeches of Itachi echoed throughout the underground labyrinth. The sound of his pain and desperation reverberating against the solid stone walls and winding through the seemingly endless passageways of the hidden base.

All rooms had been sealed for the night, bar the largest room, reserved for their great leader. Even with the distance between the two rooms, Itachi's scream could still be heard faintly in Pein's bedroom, stirring the only occupant of the bed. The single female Akatsuki awoke to the shrill shriek, rubbing her heavy eyes. After Konan processed what the sound was, she sought out her partner and gently shook his shoulder.

"Pein-sama, it's Itachi…. I believe Kisame is after him again. Should we… intervene?" In no way did the shinobi particularly like the Uchiha, but she did pity him, knowing full well what he had to suffer through with his forceful comrade.

Heaving a heavy sigh, the lead ninja bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger as if to stay off a rising headache. He slouched against his desk where he'd been hard at work pouring over reconnaissance reports in a vain attempt at predicting the whereabouts of their next bijuu target.

"Konan… if losing Deidara taught me anything it's that no matter how hard we try, we can't keep a miserable ninja in service… Itachi is… his value has decreased greatly. He's slipped in the rankings among top shinobi, he's lost the vast majority of his usefulness in espionage and battle… look here," Pein pushed a leaf of paper across the table, it being a report that had been clearly torn off of a kiosk. The paper had a list of active criminals and the bounties on their heads, in order of priority. Nagato was at the top, followed shortly after by Orochimaru, then Kisame and so on. "Itachi's bounty isn't even listed anymore it's slipped so low. Konan, who would you rather make discontented, Itachi or Kisame? Because there's no pleasing both of them."

"Well my only issue is that if Kisame continues on in this manner we might find ourselves another member short. That will be three lost in less than a few years."

"I highly doubt Kisame, however violent and malicious he is, would actually kill Itachi. As long as he stays on this list, he has priority. Now unless you personally wish to tell him he can't do as he pleases, I suggest you drop the matter."

The last lines came out cold, mostly from the fact that Pein had been burning his candle at both ends, but nonetheless Konan knew when she had been defeated. She quietly pulled a stand of hair behind her ear and laid her arms softly onto her colleague's shoulders, pressing her nimble fingertips to his chest.

"Yes sir… will you be coming to bed soon? A good leader cannot lead properly with two hours of sleep for every seven days. I believe there will still be demons in the world to find in the morning."

"I didn't get to where I am today by falling asleep on the job, Konan. It wouldn't befit Yahiko… I'll rest when the work here is done. You can expect me in an hour or so." With that the Akatsuki leader put his papers back in order and began tracing his finger over a map of the area where they had been tracking their latest bijuu.

She silently nodded her head, but left a quick peck against her leader's brow and returned to bed, whispering that she'd keep his side warm.

Back through the halls there still came the whimper of the miserable raven-hair, gnawing on his lip as Kisame peeled the stinging tentacles off one by one.

"Those were some expensive fish, Ita-san. Kakazu isn't gonna be happy you just killed them like that… and I'm not too happy either. You won't be doing dumb shit like that again, will you?" With that the large fish-man removed that last painful arm, revealing the younger man's red, welted chest.

"You deserve to have your fish killed, you stupid bastard," the raven-haired man managed to hiss between his teeth, biting back the pain of his searing skin, the poison burning into his flesh and filling his chest with agony. "Now get off of me." His red eyes were stern, almost daring Kisame to keep him pinned.

"If you don't stop fighting I'll just let you burn. Don't move, and maybe I'll give you something to make the pain go away…" Lightening his grip, Kisame tested the trust of his partner, and was pleased when the Uchiha did not fight, but remained calm and still, except the occasional squirm of discomfort. The larger man smiled a ferociously toothy grin and walked to his bathroom, reaching into a secret cupboard for a hidden jug. He quickly poured a large swig over his neck, hissing loudly at first but then allowing the pain. He slowly returned to his lover lying obediently on the ground, holding the jug above him. "Now those jellies that you so rudely killed were sea nettles, highly poisonous but it won't kill you. It'll hurt for hours if you don't treat it, but I feel like you have to earn it, Ita-kun, since you've been so naughty." Itachi grumbled at the mixture of pain and his disgust at the request, but the strong smell of the vinegar filled his nostrils, knowing he wanted the burning to stop.

Kisame stopped the opening back up with a cork, rising to his feet and taking the bottle with him as he sat back on his bed. The structure was little more than a mattress on an elevated board, but there was no frame that would accommodate the abnormally tall shinobi comfortably. The springs in the mattress gave a satisfying creak as the cushion took Kisame's weight, bowing slightly. The elder man set the jar of vinegar aside, focusing instead on himself as his thick hand undid the top button of his pants. When that barrier was out of the way, he spread his knees and leaned back, grinning and jerking his chin upwards to beckon the Uchiha to him.

"I've got it started for you. Now come earn your treatment."

Nothing sickened the Uchiha more than when he had to perform for what he wanted. It was a terrible thing that the days of taking what he desired most were gone with his perfect sight, leaving him to scrap the bottom of the barrel and even beg for his wants. But the fiery pain across his pectorals demanded some sort of relief, so another night of trying to please Kisame seemed to be at hand. Rolling over to his hands and knees, the raven-hair crawled over to the bed, knowing full well that's how the Mist ninja would have wanted. He didn't bother drying his hands from the spilt salt water, instead reaching inside the confides of the other man's open fly to wrap his fingers around his massive member. It was a monstrous organ, having experienced its girth firsthand and finding it ridiculously enormous. He began coating the thick shaft in the water, watching Kisame's face carefully.

There was a kind of calm impatience to the elder man's stern gaze, his expression speaking volumes. The shark-man kept Itachi pinned under his stare as if to prevent insubordination, but even with the rogue Leaf ninja at work on him, Kisame held a look of dissatisfaction. His sharp maw was angled just slightly downward into a frown of disapproval, his eyes hardened over into a cold glower. When it seemed silent expressions wouldn't be getting his wishes through the half-blind man's skull, the elder shinobi grunted and took one rough hand underneath Itachi's chin. He tilted the raven-haired man's chin upward to lock eyes with the other if only to be sure his words could not be questioned.

"Hands will earn you nothing, Itachi-san."

Itachi curtly ripped his chin from its captor, returning to looking down on his unwanted work.

"Patience is a virtue, Kisame."

"Well I'm not a virtuous man, Ita-kun, so you might want to get to it if you want the burning to stop."

The younger shinobi growled internally at the truth, bringing his face closer to the now hardening member in his grasp. Oh how he had come to hate the smell of his fish flesh, and worse, the taste. The pungent taste of marine pheromones and human sweat all having stewed inside his clothes for countless days made him want to wretch, a knot already forming and adding to his allover discomfort. But by holding his breath the task seemed less vile, only sickening one of his four keen senses left. Hesitantly Itachi's tongue made contact with Kisame's throbbing head, swirling the warm mushroom tip over his palette and flushing his taste buds with the awful flavor.

The larger man's shoulders stiffened and his glare finally melted away into a satisfied smirk, just barely showing off his deadly teeth. He raised an eyebrow as Itachi looked up, almost trying to egg the other ninja on if only to motivate him more. Kisame's paw found its way to the back of the younger man's head, stroking the obsidian hair with a kind of wanton affection, as if he greatly anticipated pulling the silky locks later into their course should things progress that far. And he was certain they would.

But as he continued to suck off his unwanted lover, Itachi waited until finally a particular jerk of the hand snapped Kisame's eyes shut, his growl bounding off his bedroom walls. Before he lost his chance, the victim looked frantically around for his 'reward', finding the jug at arms-length away to his left. He quickly switched hands, clamping his right onto the blue-hair's member and recklessly sticking out his left to snatch it up, his fingertips almost in reach of the handle.

Just as his nimble fingers graced the glass, however, the larger ninja snatched his partner's shoulder and with a vicious shove, reversed their directions so that Itachi was pinned to the mattress beneath him. By the look in his eye – lust, rather than anger – the Uchiha could tell Kisame had not noticed his attempt to snatch the vinegar, but instead had decided to move to the next level. The shark-man dipped his head, purring as Itachi continued moving his hand over his wanting manhood, and began to nibble provocatively at the other man's neck. He started in softly at first, but still before the raven-haired man could completely grasp the situation, there were pointed teeth gnawing at the joint between his neck and shoulder.

With the pressing of chests together, the welts that already had appeared on Itachi's skin became inflamed, making him cry out in agony. But unfortunately it was interpreted as a cry for more, driving Kisame to dig deeper and eventually latch onto his lover's shoulder, a river of blood bubbling up around his dagger mouth. With both offensive touches setting off his pain receptors, the half-blind shinobi could only cling to his molester, having no other support for the tortuous night he knew he was about to endure. As Kisame continued to use and abuse him, the Uchiha reverted back to an old trick he had developed for inevitable hostile situations, reaching back into a cavity in his mind reserved for leaving his present self, and here he most commonly plotted and planned, this time being no exception. Blanking his mind to the current cruelty being done upon him, Itachi simply collapsed, realizing that he could take no more of this abuse.

He had to get Deidara back, or surely this condition of living would be his undoing. He had to get Deidara back. He'd make everything better.

Morning broke gently over the pair dozing lazily together, their bodies pressed against one another and their legs twisted in a mat of sheets, the like being the only evidence of their late-night romp. Deidara was the first to reluctantly open his eyes, but he dared not move for there was still a slumbering weight upon his chest. Looking down slyly, the blonde found his lover still passed out half on top of him and couldn't help but smile at how innocent the hanyou's sleeping face looked. Careful so as not to disturb his mate, the artist rested his palm against Inuyasha's neck, brushing his fingers affectionately over his lover's silver tresses.

A stray hair fell into the shell of his canine ear, tickling the sensitive hairs and making the whole ear twitch. Deidara froze, not intentionally trying to wake him, but calmed as Inuyasha simply readjusted and brought his relaxed hand up to brush against his lover's recovering nipple. The twinge of pain from the still blood-red nub reminded of last night, how the half-breed's demon intentions got the better of him, not the point that he caused true damage, but enough to scare them both.

Deidara averted his eyes to the ceiling, letting out a long breath he'd held in fear of waking his partner. He knew far too well that when Inuyasha's demon side was added to the mix, things never went well, but for the most part the ugliness didn't show through. As much as he loved the man sleeping peacefully against his chest, Deidara could not shake the feeling of apprehension, knowing that somewhere deep inside of his lover lay a monster that would love to tear him apart. It was unnerving to say the least, but at the same time the shinobi had to tell himself it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. Admitting he was bested would only spell disaster for their relationship, and that would cut Deidara deeper than any claws or fangs could.

But before he could dwell on the thought any longer, a small movement snapped his mind back to the present, looking down to see his lover stirring. Inuyasha's ear had flicked again, arousing his senses to the world and bringing his conscious mind from his dream. He yawned, his jaw separating and tongue flicking out to show his gleaming fangs before his mouth snapped shut, his teeth clicking together. His eyes lazily scanned over his surroundings and eventually found Deidara's watching eyes, and he nuzzled the blonde affectionately.

At the soft action, the younger man couldn't help but smile, chasing the more troubling thoughts from his mind for the time being and stroking Inuyasha's head with a bit more vigor. Humming softly, the bomber's fingertips found the back of his lover's ear and scratched the velvet-soft fur, causing the hanyou to close his eyes and grunt in appreciation. It was strange yet amazing; in the past, the half demon had despised having his ears fiddled with, having them pinched and pulled and poked at by countless curious people. It was all Kagome's fault too, she'd been the first to be fascinated with his demon ears and ever since they'd gotten a little extra, unwanted attention. But Deidara… oh, Deidara new just how to treat his ears, he didn't yank or tweak or any of that stuff, just scratched where he liked and rubbed them gently from time to time. It was almost nice enough to lull the mutt back to sleep if his lover hadn't spoken first.

"Good morning love un."

Inuyasha smirked and kissed the underside of his mate's jaw line, bringing his hand to rest cupping Deidara's shoulder.

"Is it still morning?" the half-breed wiped his eye, annoyed.

"Yes un. The sun isn't the far up yet. We haven't slept in un."

"Good… cause I was thinking we should pay a visit to the wolf tribe and see if Itachi's been creeping about there."

Deidara sighed as if reluctant, but folded his free arm behind his head, staring up at the ceiling for a moment as he rolled the thought around in his head. He highly doubted Itachi would be poking around the wolf's den; it seemed pretty obvious he was after the bomber and nothing else, but on the off chance that he'd been stopping by the demon tribe, maybe it was worth a shot.

"That's an awfully long trip un. We'd have to get a move on as soon as possible… it's almost six hours as the clay crow flies to Kouga's mountains, so we might end up spending the night un… unless you'd rather take camp elsewhere… you know how territorial the wolf tribe can be anyway un."

"I don't care if we have to travel during the night. We ain't staying in the nasty den of his... covered in fleas and god knows what…" Inuyasha grumbled and nestled his head back into the crook of Deidara's shoulder, debating whether or not he could actually get up just yet and venture out.

The blonde smiled and continued to scratch behind his lover's ear, still staring up at the ceiling to avoid having to crane his neck downward at an awkward angle to see his mate.

"Well I guess you'll be the one flying us back because I'm not spending myself that thin twice in one day un. I'm not sure you realize how much chakra it takes to suspend and control that jutsu for six hours, so we're camping, it's just a matter of where un."

"Look, I can run with you on my back all night. If I'm gonna take the time to fucking build a house with a perfectly good bed in it, I'm gonna sleep in it rather than a fucking tree."

Deidara smirked, running his finger teasingly up the edge of the hanyou's pointed ear, causing it to flick at the tickling touch.

"What, not so fond of the rough and rugged outdoors anymore un? What ever happened to that untamed man who could sleep anywhere un?" Chuckling softly, the ninja rubbed gently at the shell of his lover's ear, causing the half demon to close his eyes and grunt with appreciation. "Are you saying you'd be opposed to spending a night on the wild side… reconnecting in nature un?"

As that last bit rolled off of the blonde's tongue, a small ripple traveled up the hanyou's spine, and with a wolfish chuckle he rolled the two of them over, forcing his lover to now lay against his chest.

"You just can't get enough, can you? Alright, alright, we'll find a place to camp and we can rough it for a night. Happy?"

"Very… what can I say? I love you so much I just want to be with you in every way all the time un." To prove he was telling the truth, the younger man turned his head and placed a soft kiss on Inuyasha's bare chest, nuzzling the warm skin affectionately and wrapping his arms around the other man's torso from the side. He gave the elder man a brief, but tight hug and looked up at his partner with lucid cerulean eyes that seemed with readiness to start the day in anticipation of the night that would follow.

A few hours later the pair had fed and dressed, not wanting the sun to reach its peak before their departure. Inuyasha had gone for a quick run to check the perimeter of the household for the unwanted enemy, while Deidara remained at the homestead and tended to his creation. He had selected a plain falcon, not worried about minor details with the simple use of transportation. The creature cooed affectionately and rubbed its head into his masters' outstretched hand, the artist smiling all the while. Suddenly the clay animal raised its head, looking out towards the north, and after a moment the blonde too heard the noise of a horse riding down the beaten path.

The artist abandoned his creation for a moment, the beast becoming rigid as a statue in its master's absence. Inuyasha was first to hear the approach and was waiting, braced and suspicious as the rider neared to their rather out-of-the-way house. There was a sense of urgency in the way the horse was handled, not too far down the trail, both men could clearly hear the animal snorting from lack of breath and reins clicking to hasten the pounding hooves. Finally the horse and rider came to a stop before the hanyou, the beast stepping anxiously as the scent of demon flooded its flared nostrils. The person on board was a young lad in peasant's clothes, appearing no more than fifteen years of age. His brow was furrowed and he spoke urgently while trying very little to calm his skittish mare.

"Sorry to… barge in but I have… been s-sent by L-Lady Kaede to fetch… the two…of-"

"Catch your breath first, idiot. You can barely talk." Inuyasha patted the young man's back, and he in turn leaned over and clutched his knees. Nerves had got the best of the lad, and the hanyou realized it was because of him when the boy flinched and leaned slightly away from the mutt's touch. Inuyasha took a step back and gave the villager his space.

After the boy was given a moment to steady his breathing and calm himself, he was finally able to speak properly.

"Lady Kaede sent me to fetch you both, said she was caring for this stranger and he gave her some old tome and you'd better come have a look at it." Deidara sighed and rubbed a thumb across his brow, failing to see the immediate importance of some dusty old scroll the priestess had gotten from some wandering beggar.

"How urgent did she say this meeting was un? Master Inuyasha and I were about to leave for the mountains and weren't planning on returning until tomorrow afternoon un." The youth shook his head as if to say such plans couldn't be supported under the new set of circumstances.

"The high priestess says it's urgent. She says it could solve the problems of strangers coming from the well."

Inuyasha's back straightened at the news, and for an instant his and his mate's eyes connected. Solve the problem. That was enough to cancel any road trip.

"You're serious? That old bat found a way to seal the well?" the hanyou barked at the young man, and he cringed in return.

"I d-don't know s-sir. She just s-said she had-"

"Don't worry, boy un. He won't bite. Thank you for the news un, I'll be on my way."

"Wait, 'your way'? I'm not going with you?" Inuyasha ignored the other youth, having figured his service was no longer required.

"Well... I figure you should still check with Kouga and all that un, but I can stay and check with her. We can still do the camping trip when you get back un…" The blonde silently ran his hands over the mutt's chest, pressing his fingers through the cloth to press against his toned pectorals. The young errand boy flinched at the display of affection and quietly coughed, hoping to break up the uncomfortably sensual scene. Realizing they still had young company, Deidara quickly retracted his hand and looked away to clear his own throat, sure that his mate had gotten the message.

"Right un, so you run by Kouga's den and I'll see you back here by sundown if you hurry un." The young shinobi scratched the back of his head out of anxiousness, not liking the idea of going their separate ways on this one but unable to deny that apart they would cover more ground and gather more information towards solving their current conundrum.

Before the third male had time to relax and be on his way, the hanyou scooped up his lover's chin and planted a farewell kiss before leaving for the day, bounding off into the woods towards the south until he disappeared through the brush. Deidara was left holding his cheek lovingly until he spotted the boy still there, smiling a squeamish apology. The shinobi just smiled and mounted his clay falcon, waiting for the boy to leave before ascending into the sky.

On the back of his winged creation, the young man made it the long way to the village before even the child on horseback, leveling the usually half hour walk into a 10 minute flight. The snow-white bird touched down just outside of the town and Deidara slid off its smooth shoulder, landing skillfully and dispelling his jutsu. The sculpture shrunk down to a petite size, just small enough to fit in the palm of the ninja's hand. Without thinking much of it, he hurled the tiny model as hard into the air as he could before casting a quick hand sign, causing the clay to explode in a loud bloom of fire. The shockwave startled nearby civilians, and many grown men seized their weapons and ducked out of their houses and shops, prepared to battle off a fearsome monster. When the familiar blonde man came strolling down the dirt road, however, shoulders slumped in relief.

There were a few grumbles from three or four bystanders, but the others went back to their chores as the ninja passed his way through towards the miko's tent. She was already standing in front of her cloth door by the time Deidara began walking up her path.

"Good morning to you, Deidara-sama. I hope the boy didn't wake you or Inuyasha."

"No, we were leaving to go investigate at Kouga's den, but we decided to split up for today un. Covering more ground and all hm."

"Ah yes, well I think I've found something very interesting. A man that came here-"

"Gave you a scroll or something, the boy said un. Inside?"

"Yes just-"

Before the elderly priestess could finish, a commotion behind the bomber captured both of their attentions. As Deidara turned the sight of Inuyasha walking hastily towards them greeted him.

"Hang on, Kaede-sama, I'll be right back un." With that the shinobi walked back down the dirt road to meet the slightly distressed hanyou. "What's up un? I thought we were covering more ground if you'd go to see Kouga un?"

The silver-hair was slightly out of breath, a sight not very familiar to the blonde, but he still waited until the half-breed composed enough to tell him he reason for the return. But the elder remained silent after his body calmed, and in a rush of movement captured the shinobi's mouth in a passionate kiss, tangling his claws into Deidara's hair.

There was a moment where the younger man could not breathe for how startled he was, but couldn't deny the kiss. It was odd for Inuyasha to let his emotions get him so flustered, but with the half demon's lips on his own, Deidara couldn't care less, returning the passion if only for a moment to help calm his stressed mate. After a moment of kissing, however, the blonde began to feel the disapproving stares of civilians burning into him from all sides and pulled away in hopes of getting the hanyou on his way so that their intimacy could be shared in private later.

But even as he leaned his body away, the hanyou encompassed his arm around him and held him firmly, keeping their bodies pressed together. No matter how much he loved the dog demon, the shinobi felt that their scene could be relocated at best, if not postponed, and he continued to struggle until his lips broke free. As he gasped for air the hanyou latched onto his neck, giving it the same forceful treatment.

"Inu-kun n-not here… hang on un, we can- Ow! Stop biting you dog. That hurts un…" But still the mutt nipped and bit at his neck, discouraging the villagers even more so. Deidara looked around searchingly, thinking of a way to stay his lover's lustful exhibit. "Here here un, let's…. let's take this into the wood, hm?"

Eventually the hanyou's lips slowed, enough for him to whisper a husky reply.

"Whatever you say, kintori."

There was a long moment when Deidara's mind went utterly blank. This man on him was not Inuyasha…

Like a fiery explosion, rage boiled over in his veins and as soon as there was the tiniest space between himself and the imposter, the ninja was lashing out, landing a hearty blow on the other's stomach. Still the masquerade did not vanish, but it didn't need to for the blonde to know who it was under his lover's guise. It was like this was the final straw that broke the camel's back and this time, no matter how much he pitied Itachi, the bomber would not hold back.

As the other ninja hunched forward, grabbing his stomach and raising murmurs of disapproval from the watching villagers, Deidara was sure to put distance between himself and Itachi. Hands flying through memorized seals, the earth ninja released a series of rising columns of earth that arched overhead and each threatened to crush the imposter like an ant under a shoe.

"**HOW **_**DARE**_** YOU**!" The younger man shouted at the top of his lungs, eyes wide with fury, his anger turning into hot, flowing energy like fuel to his fire.

Still in his Inuyasha form, the dark shinobi crouched in the dirt clutching his injured abs. His image was flawless, resembling the hanyou in every detail, down to his perfect fangs that gleamed through a partial grin.

"I can be him, Dei… I can be him for you. I know you love this form, you can't deny that… I felt how much you loved me holding you in this form. Please, Deidara… I can be so much better than him." Itachi dared to look up, his Sharingan replacing Inuyasha's wild, golden irises.

"FUCK UP AND DIE UN!" Deidara shouted, straining his throat to contain the rage and hate in his voice. He'd been done a horrible injustice, fooled into infidelity, he'd never forgive himself nor Itachi and it was enough for murder to fill every synapse of his brain.

As another wave of stone came cascading down on Itachi, dust rose up in all directions, choking out the air until with a pair of loud blasts and a burst of fire, the particles were thrown in all directions, leaving a distinct smell of sulfur. As the smoke cleared, Deidara was revealed past the screen standing on the back of a clay hawk, his face hard as the stone he manipulated, looking every inch the shinobi he once had been. Cold, meticulous, pitiless. There was nothing but a look of bloodlust in his darkened blue eyes as he stared down at the imposter.

As he towered over the charlatan, the ex-Akatsuki contemplated his form of attack, deciding which assault to potentially put the Uchiha in his grave. But before the perfect strike was determined, a puff of smoke enveloped the raven-hair, and Deidara prepared for his foe to flee. But no, when the white wisps dissipated, Itachi still remained, returned to his original state. From above the artist took in the sight of Itachi, and for moment his heart stopped.

Below was a man that looked somewhat familiar to him, the general frame of the old Uchiha. But what Deidara saw was a man made out of bruises. Littered everywhere across his fare skin was black and purple contusions, even a few collections of scratches stripped across limbs. He did not wear his usual Akatsuki cloak and as a result showed off all of his horrible injuries. This man, formally one of the most powerful of all shinobi, now knelt in the dirt as a human black eye.

What astonished Deidara the most was the fact that he knew a simple explosion could not have caused such a mangling to him.

"Damn," Itachi hissed through the glob of blood collecting in his teeth. "Can't even hold a transformation jutsu…"

As furious as he was with the other man, the image of him weakened by some outside force tugged Deidara backwards from the precipice overlooking the chasm of amorality. There was something inside of him that rose like bile in his throat to keep the blonde from killing an already injured man; it would be like murdering a leper or a child, and he simply couldn't. Still keeping his distance astride his flying creation, the bomber continued to glare down at his foe.

"Leave now, Itachi, and never return un. I don't want to kill an injured man, but I've done worse before. Find yourself a nice, cold, dark hole to die in un. I never want to see your face again." He paused to consider his wording before adding "and if you try to impersonate Inuyasha again, I will make your death more slow and agonizing than your Tsukuyomi un."

With the ultimatum delivered, Deidara simply hovered in the sky, waiting for Itachi to make his next move, either an attack or retreat. But he did neither, continuing to sit in the dirt and quietly bleed. For a moment he was lost to himself, his last efforts defeated.

"Wha- What?" Deidara made no reply to him, making the raven-hair actually shake. "I can't go back…. I can't go there. I don't have anywhere else to go…. He'll kill me, he'll kill me if I go back- he'll kill me… I can't go back-" The man continued on until he simply rambled, stuck in a loop.

"Maybe you can go sleep with your friends the wolf demons un, I'm sure-" Deidara began to sneer venomously before a large explosion sounded through the forest, like a clap of thunder. Looking out the tops of trees began to quake, centered around the location of the well. The blonde's eyes constricted as the aura of power increased, inferring that whatever chakra charged monstrosity that caused such a noise was heading their way.

"What fresh hell have you brought upon us, un?"


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning: The following chapter contains graphic violence and sexual content not suitable for young readers. Reader discretion is strongly advised.**

Chapter 5

The day had been so peaceful at the wolf demon compound; there was a successful hunt and plenty of game brought back to feed the whole clan, the weather had been favorable, intruders had been at a minimum. Kouga's annoyance was palpable when a commotion rose up over the ridge that marked the beginning of the wolf camp. A territorial growl rose in the back of the tribe leader's throat as an all too familiar scent wafted over the precipice, indicating that yet again his home was being paid an unwanted visit by a certain half-demon. Kouga narrowed his eyes as the silver-haired hanyou came over the rise towards the wolves' cave, flanked by three rough-looking demons.

"Why are you dragging your sorry ass around here, dog-breath? Don't you have you own house to stink up?"

"You really think I wanna be here - _back off you_," the mutt growled firstly to the leader, taking a second afterwards to snatch his arm away from one of his escorts. "I just want information, wolf-shit and then I'm going back to Deidara."

"He ain't with you?" Kouga dismissed his underlings, the trio glaring at the hanyou as they dispersed and returned to their duties. "I thought you two were stuck together by the ass by now."

"Shut up, baka. Listen, Itachi's been back and messing with Deidara. If he's been hiding out here and you didn't tell me-"

"Itachi's been back? Well fuck if I knew. Haven't seen him for a year and figured he wasn't coming back. How's he doing since you blinded him?"

"He's gonna be dead if I get my hands on him."

"Well aren't you a peach?" Kouga snorted and leaned back, folding his arms across his chest and giving the hanyou a fang-filled smirk. "So Itachi's back, what do you want me to do about it?" The wolf demon crossed his legs at the ankles and propped his feet up by his campfire. "You need my wolves to drive him back down the hole he crawled out of or something? 'Cause service like that don't come cheap. I gave you the last one because I owed you, but this time you're dealing with your own problems unless you can pay. Of course if you did want to talk prices, I'd say one night with that pretty little blonde of yours might suffice-"

Inuyasha was quick to step up to the wolf demon, bringing their noses close for that the hanyou could growl in his ear alone. "I don't need your help, and I'm **not **afraid to kick _your ass_ up and down this mountain side! Talk about him like that again and I'll _rip_ you apart. That wouldn't look too good on your own turf, would it?"

"Please, Inu-baka, you couldn't touch me if you tried." Kouga stood and took a step back, brushing off the threat. "What are you still doing here? I told you I haven't seen him."

"Nothing now. You know it's a pain in my ass to run all the way out here so why doing you-"

"I don't really give a rat's ass. You're on my land, now **get**… unless you're begging for help."

"I told you already, I don't need your help," the half demon snarled at his cocky acquaintance, his ears folding backwards to show his annoyance, "but I could use a break. I just ran for five hours to get here-"

"Then you can run five hours to get back. Or five minutes if it will get you out of my territory. Look, if you and Blondie aren't getting on well, you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. I can't look like I'm allies with dog-shit like you… not so far into the mating season at least, so either you get out of here, or I'll have to run you out… dominance and all that… course I wouldn't expect a half-breed piece of shit like you to understand any of that pack-stuff anyway."

Inuyasha almost turned to leave, but something had caught in his ear and he couldn't resist but ask. Deidara wasn't going anywhere, so a few extra minutes talking wouldn't really hurt anything.

"Mating season… I thought you had an old lady now?"

The wolf demon folded his arms behind his head and gave a quick snort as if suppressing an arrogant laugh.

"See, I knew you wouldn't get any of this pack-stuff. Look, this might be hard for a lost puppy like you to understand, but just because I have an alpha-bitch, doesn't mean I still can't share the love with the rest of the females. As leader it is my duty to make sure that my perfect genes are spread most and all that. I pick the top females who will rear me the strongest sons, then pick my top males and allow them mating rights to the rest of the women. The only difference between Ayame and the rest of the bitches is that Ayame's children will always outrank them." Kouga studied Inuyasha's face for any hint of jealousy, any reaction that would give him a shard of victory to pry from the hanyou's grasp. There was a change in the dog's face, a look of astonishment as if he couldn't believe his own ears. "Of course what would you know of these things, you've only got your one mate… and a male at that… you'll never know the fruits of the mating season… how the women beg at my feet…"

"Sounds tedious at best. I'd rather have one good bed to crawl into at night then having to deal with dozens of woman that all want your attention. Too much work. I love having one mate to please so I can concentrate my efforts. A lowly demon wouldn't understand human things like love and whatnot." Inuyasha smiled back, reveling in the fact that he had come up with that on his own, and for once it sounded intelligent and worthy of some affection when he got home.

"Eh," Kouga shrugged it off, closing his eyes and acting suddenly bored. "You don't know what you're missing, shit-for-brains. Anyway, weren't you on your way outta here? Don't make me run you out, dog-breath." The wolf tribe leader half-opened one eye to peek at Inuyasha and make sure he was leaving, but showing no real interest in making a big deal of chasing him out or defending his territory.

The hanyou snorted at his dismissal but took one last look over Kouga's demeanor before turning to leave. He stood proud and tall, but Inuyasha knew he wasn't jealous. Sure the stature and respect was great, but living more for duty than love… Maybe in another life. But with humans surrounding him the silver-hair knew that that the animal-like mentality wasn't a life for him.

"Ya know… I kinda feel sorry for ya. I mean sure, you have the pack to respect you… but it doesn't sound like anyone loves you. Not for you anyway. They just want you cause you're top dog. Ayame wouldn't be with you if you were omega, that's for sure." With that said the mutt saw himself out of the entrance to the main cavern, making his way along the cliff's path to ground level.

As the half breed left, Kouga grumbled to himself, standing and making his way deeper into the cave in hopes of finding a female that wasn't ready to bite his dick off. Maybe with a little luck he could fuck those sappy words out of the back of his mind forever. The clan leader forced himself to smirk, thinking how whipped Inuyasha must be to be lecturing the alpha male of the northern and southern wolf demon tribes about _love_. What did a confused mutt like Inuyasha know about love anyway? He was devoting his life to a male human after all.

As the hours had dragged on, it had seemed Armageddon had passed through the village, leaving homes scorched, crops destroyed, and many injured lined up to the old miko's door. Kaede did as she could, walking through the crowd and tending to what crossfire wounds she could before moving on to the next. Twenty-six injured and eight dead. The battle had dragged out for two and a half hour, neither shinobi force having faltered until the brawl had met its second hour. After such, the duo of ex partners began to tire, one member having already felt the wrath of their enemy. But now the earth was quiet.

By the time Inuyasha was in range of the smoke, the sun was working its way down the horizon, already painting the skies with a vibrant purple pallet that spoke nothing of the disaster that had befallen the tiny village. The smell of so much soot only hastened the hybrid's steps towards the little town, hoping that whatever fire had begun was well on its way to being quenched, but not taking the chance lest his help be needed. The scene that the half demon skidded into was one of far greater devastation; it almost looked as if the town had been hit by a twister, or better yet, and earth quake _and_ a twister. There was ruin everywhere. Homes were destroyed, fences smashed and livestock scattered. There were men, women and children nursing their own wounds ranging from torn skin to missing limbs. Families whimpered and huddled around the bodies of the deceased.

One young boy who had been trebling in the town center, holding up a bent sword as if prepared to attack at any moment finally dropped the ruined weapon when he laid eyes on the returning hanyou.

"Master Inuyasha!" he called out, the half-breed recognizing the voice of the messenger boy who had fetched Deidara earlier. The youth came running towards him, coming up short and kneeling reverently in the dirt at the silver-haired man's feet. "Master Inuyasha, you've returned to protect us from the demons!"

Normally he would have come back with a snide comment, the boy having previously cringed away from the half-demon and now groveling for his protection. But all of that was lost to the fact that this was his home, his village that lay in waste. He placed his hand over the boy's head, then brought him to his feet and held his shoulder while the youth trembled.

"Yeah I'm here now. Is it over, or are they still lurking?"

"It was one big one… and he left… a w-while ago." The young man tried to contain his shaking, but Inuyasha squeezed his thin shoulder reassuringly. Inuyasha then quitted the boy and sought out the village's wise-woman. He eventually found her tending to a father's damaged knee, his little children surrounding him in worriment.

"What the hell happened Kaede? The boy said it was a large one, but I thought Deidara was here with you all… Where is he anyway?" As the thought crossed his mind, all of his hairs stood on end. "Is he ok? Where's Deidara?"

"You'll have to wait a moment, Inuyasha. I'll speak with you in private once this man is bandaged." The elderly priestess's voice was calm but held the same bit of tremor that seemed alive in every breathing soul in the village. There was no haste left in the woman's old fingers, but diligence remained as she finished wrapping and tying the treated bandages around the wounded kneecap. Rising to her feet, the miko motioned silently for Inuyasha to follow, leading the way back to her shack. Once the cloth door had fallen back into place behind the pair of them, Inuyasha began in again with his questions.

"Kaede, where is Deidara?"

"Inuyasha… I'm afraid… Deidara was taken…"

The nightmare of a year past replayed in his head, his helplessness to Itachi's attack, the capture and torture of his lover… Immediately fingers coiled into rock hard fists and sought out something to break, but with such flimsy walls to begin with the hanyou restrained in order to keep a roof over their heads.

"I should have- damn it all! I shouldn't have left him here! I should have waited until- and then he could have gone with me… Damn it!" He threw a punch into the air, hitting nothing and leaving his anger dissatisfied. "I should have _known_ the **bastard** would wait 'til I left- Damn it! I knew it- I knew Itachi would do this!"

"Calm your fury Inuyasha," Kaede chided, holding up her hands as if to stay the hanyou's anger with the power of her peaceful will. "All is not as it seems. Yes, Itachi made advances on Deidara, but your mate quickly defeated him. This was no doing of Itachi's. This was an attack by a water demon. Deidara fought the monster, but when his earth and explosives failed to kill the foe, he and Itachi were both abducted. Don't misplace your rage, Inuyasha."

"He made _advances?_ Oh I'm gonna murder him! I'll… wait," as his mind worked independently on each part of the miko's words, his rage temporarily subsided to the identification of Deidara's actual capture. "A water demon? There's no large bodies of water nearby… he's way too far out to survive. Nature demons can't normally live too far from their main source… What did it look like? A fish?"

"Well of sorts… It was the body of a man with blue-" But she soon found herself talking alone as Inuyasha began sniffing the air, picking up on an interesting thread of scent that led him outside. Against all the rubble the reek of ash and charcoal made up the space, but here and there, along with both Deidara and Itachi's scents, was the scent of the so-called demon. With the aroma in his palette Inuyasha pulled out the scent taste of human and fish wrapped together to create a smell he had in fact encountered before.

The hanyou's nose crinkled as the blood pulling through his veins began to boil with fiery rage. That pungent, rotten scent would stay forever imbedded in his memory from that night when he and the wolf clan had invaded the Akatsuki base to rescue Deidara. Searching through the endless labyrinth of rooms had heralded little result, but among the scattered dormitories they had encountered one such beast as Kaede had described.

"_Kisame_" the half demon snarled under his breath, his claws digging into the earth below his hands, aching to feel the shark-ninja's blood washing over them.

Taking a nice sized chunk of wood, the embers still glowing even in his grasp, the mutt pulled back his arm and hurled the piece at a leaning building, abandoned and almost to its knees. As the chunk hit its side the entire hut collapsed loudly, thundering throughout the village and died into a pile of cinders. Even though the scene was far from people and out of range for flying debris, the crowd still froze at the display and watched their supposed savior as he fumed to the main road.

"Was that entirely necessary, Inuyasha? Scaring them will do no one any-"

"It made me feel better, all right witch? I'll be back."

"Where are you going?" she called as he continued to leave the ruined town behind him.

"I'm going to go ask for a favor."

Through the fog of pain and soreness, the blonde shinobi became conscious, sitting with his back against the wall and seated on the ground. The last thing he could remember was lying among the ash of a fallen house and meeting Kisame's foot head on. He looked around through smoke burnt eyes at his surroundings and found the room lit up. The lights burned his already raw pupils, and he moved to cover his eyes with the back of his hand. But to his revulsion, solid iron encompassed his wrists and the chain linked to it became too taut and held his hand. But as the links of metal slipped past the anchor to the wall, they clanked together and stirred the other occupant of the room.

"Oh good… you're alive." The words would have frightened Deidara had not the sound identified the speaker. The artist looked to the source of the voice, finding Itachi in the room with him lying face down on the bed against the adjacent wall. It was massive, and there were only two feet between the blonde and the edge of the mattress. The Uchiha's cheek was lying on the corner of the bed, looking sideways at his companion, his left eye almost covered by the bedding pressing into his face.

"I could say the same un." Deidara readjusted his legs and crossed them beneath him, staring tiredly at the other. "How long have you been awake…are you free un?"

"No. I never really passed out. I just couldn't fight him off, and he dragged us both back here. He's tied my arms up…" Itachi rolled slightly to show that his forearms had been wrapped together behind his back, each hand sticking out by the opposite elbow. "I can't fight him, Deidara… I'm too…"

"It's ok un. Conserve your strength and maybe we can get out in a while un." The bomber knew he'd need Itachi's help if he wanted to escape, but with a severe beating on top of a previous one, the raven-hair was in no condition to be of any use. He deserved a rest, even if he was a villain himself. "How long were you gonna let me lie here un?"

"You've been out for a little more than an hour since the fight. He did a number on you too… I didn't want to wake you."

"If we're going to get out of here, I need to be awake un. Just lying around here isn't going to do us any good." He began pulling against the restrains, only injuring himself more. Already the metal had eaten into his wrists and made them ache, and the fix against the wall showed no signs of damage.

"It's no use, kintori, we can't get out. The only way you're getting out of this is if that cur comes… and for your sake, I hope he does."

Anger had flared up in Deidara's stomach at yet another insult to his beloved hanyou, but with the additional concern for his wellbeing… the artist wrote it off as words of a broken man.

"Whatever… don't call me that anymore un." Itachi locked onto Deidara's eyes, a bit shocked at the statement. "We're not together, so don't act like we are un."

The half-blind shinobi lay quietly for a moment, letting the idea settling in his head. They weren't together… and he knew they never would be again. Deidara had given him his answer time and time again, rejecting the offer to come back. It was final, and now more than ever he saw his dream of their old life was nothing more than a memory now.

"I'm sorry… Deidara."

The younger man was surprised by how many times he had heard Itachi apologize in these last days, how completely out of character it seemed to be for the once powerful Uchiha. Maybe with the fall of his power came the slow fall of his confidence, his strength, and maybe that's why he had been so desperate to have the other shinobi back. But with an opportunity to talk with him and the safety of restraints, Deidara relaxed against the wall and watched Itachi watching him.

"Why did you come back, Ita-san un? I know you. You knew I wasn't coming back with you unless you dragged back my dead body un. So why did you come back hn?"

Itachi felt his insides quake and it made him nauseous. He never was one to open up, to be exposed to anyone. He always held the power, and even in this last year he had only become exposed sexually with Kisame, as the man had forced himself upon him. He always managed to keep composed during the rape to still feel some sense of power. Being emotional meant being weak, and even with the blow to his ego by being removed from the most wanted list, his pride couldn't afford to let go of the last bit of dignity he had left. But as he thought that, he moved his arm and remembered he was tied up, beaten and forced onto his captor's bed. There was no dignity in that. And looking back to his fellow prisoner, he saw that Deidara had lost all love, all respect, and finally all fear for the Uchiha. He wasn't intimidated anymore, and therefore the raven-hair had nothing to lose by sharing his weakness with his former lover.

So reluctantly the Uchiha explained what he had happened since Deidara had left their time for good. Itachi had recovered slowly, dealing with the loss of his eye and power from it with the help of his partner. It took months for the eye to fully heal, the iris turn into its now frightening milky blue. The evidence of the former mangekyo Sharingan was gone and the eye now became an alien rather than a twin to the other. It was hard to adjust his life to only half sight, but for a while Kisame was behind him, helping him along like an infant. Soon Itachi grew annoyed with the attention, lashing out at him unexpectedly, and shortly after the ex-Mist ninja withdrew his helping hand, leaving Itachi to struggle alone. But it lasted only for a week, then Kisame began making advances, playful at first that were instantly rejected by the raven-hair. This had discouraged Kisame, and with the rejection in mind he tried harder, a more aggressive attempt at seducing Itachi that involved pinning him to the wall and mauling his way into the younger man's bed.

Throughout the months Itachi's missions had been displaced onto the other members, and it had irritated the shinobi. More and more he found himself left behind or in the forceful arms of his partner. It became harder and harder to fight off Kisame, having less strength to battle the behemoth. Then one night after a heated argument, the blue skinned man finally became violent. He had once again pushed his way into Itachi's bedroom after a long mission requested a quick romp, and not surprisingly the man refused. So in a fit of anger he pushed his victim across the room, and he hit his head hard against his bed's headboard. Itachi would have thought that Kisame would have apologized, but instead he blamed the smaller man for struggling and continued with the rape. Ever since then the juggernaut continued to threaten him, not always following through, but the thought of the possibility actually frightened him. Nothing had truly frightened him like that before. There was now a chance that a person, very close in quarters to him, that could make him submit, could dominate him by any force necessary.

As Itachi recounted this, Deidara sat quietly and let it soak in. As tragic a story as it was, it only served to rekindle the pain from a similar treatment he had gone through years ago. He thought that hearing the man's pain would bring some sense of justice, some satisfaction. He only grew colder and more numb.

The Uchiha continued to tell his tale, beginning to actually answer the original question. Seeing as he remained at the base while for the most part the others were off on business, he found the perfect opportunity to see how his former lover was fairing. If he was miserable with the mutt then he could easily convince him to return and solve both of their problems. With all of the abuse he had gone through, he was understanding of why Deidara had left, and was willing to change and maybe together they would both heal and things would go back to what his thought was happiness. He had used all of his energies to conceal his chakra levels and be undetectable to both men, and he had traveled back several times more than Deidara realized. For a few months it had been simple observation, and to his discouragement found the pair happily in love. Inuyasha was a caring, strong lover, and he could see that he captivated the blonde. This put a damper on the original plan, but he knew the devotion of the hanyou was something that, with his new lesson learned, he could compete with. So he carefully approached the shinobi with the intent to convince him, not seduce him.

"I saw how happy you were, and…. I suppose…I thought that if you were with me… I could be happy. You would rub off on me." Itachi's good eye searched over the other for a sign of sympathy, but Deidara only had lowered his gaze to the floor, trying to process the explanation.

"You see… that's the problem with Uchihas un." Slowly the blonde raised his head, the large chunk of his bang covering half of his face. "You always take what you want… never try to earn it un. You think that if you control everything, then all is fine un. But that's the reason I left you, Itachi… you just took and didn't earn me hn. You didn't even try un."

At this point the raven-hair lifted his head off the bed in strain, shocked at the revelation.

"I didn't 'earn' you?"

"No. When I'm with Inuyasha, I can see that he tries every day to make me happy un. He doesn't _have_ to because I love him, but he works hard anyway. He earns my love with all of the work and love he gives to me, and I do the same un. That's why I'm happy with him un."

The older shinobi dropped his head back and let it bounce against the mattress. Defeated, he closed both tired eyes and sighed heavily.

"Well… it wasn't all bad, was it?"

Deidara's irritation told him to affirm the question, but deep down he knew it was purely from anger and would not bring him peace.

"… not at first un. You did force yourself on me, but at first… it wasn't terrible un. You ignored me when you weren't looking for an outlet, and that was fine with me un. For a while I was… ok with that. It was nice to have someone to say I was with, but it didn't really make me happy un. It just made life easier. But when you started… You would come back angry and you had this blind anger un. Like you didn't care that it was me. You would just start swinging… and that's why I left you hm. You never tried to make things better. You would see that you hurt me, but you thought you deserved it, because you owned me un." He took a breath, never once looking up to his roommate. "I wasn't a lover to you, I was property un. Inuyasha doesn't think like that hm, and that's why I'm with him." The air between them was now stiff, Deidara's voice having hardened as his resentment got the best of him. Itachi simply lay there and took his punishment. After a few seconds of thick silence, the blonde did clear his throat. "But… you never beat me up like _that_," nodding his head towards the raven-hair's body and its horrible condition. "The worst you did was make me have sex with you after I had both arms torn off hn… but I don't think you were mean about it. You weren't torturing me to be evil un. _You_ were just thinking about _you_ again un." Deidara tossed his head to the side, revealing both of his eyes and the now forming bruise under his left eye. "You're an asshole, but you're not evil… until you go into that blind rage un."

The elder relaxed against his restraints, trying to settle his body out the best he could with several injuries and his arms tied behind his back.

"That's good to hear… except the blind rage…. I'm sorry Dei… I'm sorry I did that to you. You're… you're too good for that."

It was hard to get past their violent history, but the man before Deidara wasn't the same old Itachi. He was broken and weak, and it could be the daze of pain and need for sympathy that drove his words, but the blonde couldn't help but see him as a different man. This creature was pathetic and miserable, and the bomber actually found himself empathizing with him. There was no chance of Deidara forgetting what had happened in the past, but getting past it in order to brighten his future with the hanyou was an idea he was slowly considering.

He couldn't forget, but he knew in time, could forgive.

But before they could continue their conversation, the only entrance to the room glowed and clicked, the seal having been broken from the outside. The protection on the door made a thick barrier so that neither shinobi could feel chakra levels outside, so there was no way to tell who all was entering or even if there were others in the compound. Seated on the floor Deidara sat up and leaned out to view the door, but the other simple lay there, knowing full well who it was without even needing to read the energy level of the person. As the door began to slide up from the ground, Deidara filled his lungs with air and yelled out, hopeful that someone inside the headquarters would hear his cries and at least investigate the racket. He continued until the towering visitor entered and firmly delivered his foot into the man's mouth. His solid mass connected with his teeth and Deidara almost feared he had broken them. But instead he felt blood well up in-between and dribble over his lip, his jaw screaming in tenderness.

"Everyone's gone, pain in the ass, so shut the hell up…" The shark-man finished entering his room, returning the door to its sealed position and returned the soundproof barrier onto it. Kisame reentered his room with a bucket in hand and two chains draped over his shoulder. The blonde shivered at the sight, not wanting to know what possible reason the man had them but knew he'd find out soon. Having successfully silenced his first captive, the huge male turned his eyes to his second, sitting on the other corner of his bed and setting the bucket on the ground. As he did, something rattled against the metal of the pale, sounding of several smaller items that settle together inside as it hit the floor. With a calloused, scaly hand Kisame ran his palm under Itachi's shirt and stroked his back, a faux gesture of comfort to his uke. The half-blind man remained silent and unmoved, too numb by this time to put forth any fight. As the kidnapper removed his hand, his fingers snagged around the back of Itachi's pants, dragging them off as they continued down his leg. Deidara bowed his head; unable to believe that he was being forced to watch what he supposed was going to be Itachi's rape. The sight of his former abuser now on the butt end of the attack made him thoroughly nauseous. But suddenly the toe of Kisame's foot caught under Deidara's chin, smashing his head back until his crown cracked against the hard wall.

"I didn't bring you here to ignore this, you little bitch," the juggernaut growled, replacing himself back onto the bed to kneel over Itachi's legs. "If I didn't want you to watch this, I'd killed you back there in that little mud village. Oh no… you're gonna see all of this. And you, Ita-kun," the man purred over the ill-treated man's body, "you've been a bad uke, running away like that. I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson, won't I?"

The raven-hair was silent, and the other men wondered if Itachi had merely passed on, his body still and breathing almost undetectable. But Kisame grabbed his victim's face, turning it up and saw the tiniest eye movement.

"You know what really pissed me off, my little minx. You had to go and punch me in the nose. You know I hate when you do that."

At the thought of Kisame's shark-like senses being thrown off with an effective punch to his sensory nerves in his snout, Deidara snickered, not able to catch himself before the abuser heard him. Bracing uselessly, the artist received another swift kick to his face; his own nose crunched and began oozing blood.

The shark-man grinned and shoved his other captive's head back into the mattress, leaning back until his massive hand enclosed around the handle of his bucket. He placed it next to Itachi, and the frail body flinched as the metal touched the skin of his leg. Deidara's eyes focused in on the pail as Kisame dipped his hand inside and picked at the contents. When his hand withdrew the blonde squinted at what he held. It was a round ice cube, already melting between his fingers. He took the cube and drug it over Itachi's back, sliding in a serpents trail across his shoulder blades and spine, watching as the man's body involuntarily cringed under the cold contact. But before the ex-Mist ninja reached his lover's tailbone the frozen piece had melted away, leaving the half-blind man's broken body wet. Before retrieving another ice cube, the behemoth gathered his two chains and quickly attached them to Itachi's ankles, pulling the other end tight and fixed them to the bedpost. With the iron taut, the prisoner's legs were pulled back and apart, leaving his most vulnerable area on full display and easy access. The youngest stiffened and let his eyes lock on the bucket, not wanting to again view his tormentor's body being so violated.

Satisfied with his work, the blue-hair fished out another of his frozen weapons and was faster to use it, lest it melt too soon again. But instead of distressing the man with his painful teasing, he jumped straight into his plan. Grabbing one of his bruised ass cheeks he spread them apart, shoving the cube inside his already sore rectum. As Deidara cringed and so did the true prey, his limps straining against their shackles and his mouth gaping open with a breathless gasp. The raven-hair suddenly regained his fight, struggling against the invading cold inside him and tried to dispel it like a bowel movement, but as it almost was forced out another was shoved in behind it, quickly followed by a third and fourth cube. Itachi grunted and howled at the freezing blocks pressing against his hot cavity, the infesting ice not melting fast enough to drive out. He wriggled and writhed while he waited for the ice to melt and pass out, not letting Kisame have his way with a broken spirit. Soon enough water began leaking from his puckered hole, but with plenty of cubes Kisame continued to add more as they melted and seeped out. Itachi was soon whining pathetically, only hurting himself more by fighting against the solid iron holding him in place. After five minutes of this, the half-blind man grew tired again and exerted less effort. Disappointed, Kisame grabbed the last handful of ice and systematically began forcing them in together until the man's rectum was crammed past its capacity. The first cube crushed against Itachi's prostate and couldn't stop the scream from tearing through his throat until he filled the room with the unbearable screech.

Deidara curled his body as the scream pierced him and rattled his whole system. He tucked his head into his chest and ground his teeth together, trying for his own sake to block out the shrill cries and place his mind far away from the scene before him. Along with the horrifying shriek he could hear the other Akatsuki member's laughter, low and rumbling in his chest at his success. It was sickening and the blonde could feel his eyes begin to sting with fresh tears. He could almost feel the stab inside his own body as Itachi's wailing quaked through him, almost like a transference of pain. But as he almost cleared his mind and hid inside his mental turtle-shell, the torturer was quick to bring him back. A large, cold hand wrapped under his chin and forced the bomber's face up, where he was assaulted by the Uchiha's good eye, constricted and transfixed with agony. But as they locked eyes, it seemed Deidara's attention and apologetic look calmed the man down until he was again still, the torment ending with plenty of water flowing past his out-stretched entrance. Itachi's chest heaved under him and his whole body rose and fell with every painful breath. He suddenly clamped his eyes shut when his attacker ruffled his hair, almost in a playful manor unsuited for the situation.

"Now wasn't that fun, Ita-kun? I thought so… are you a bit cold?"

Itachi was too traumatized to answer; he simply stared at his only ex-lover with a vacant, almost dead look.

"Well I'll get something to warm you right up." The large man stood and took his pail with him, walking towards his bathroom across the way but stopped just before disappearing. "Don't go anywhere," he snickered at his own joke, slipping inside the room. Deidara averted his eyes once more, unable to deal with the other man's desperately hopeless stare burrowing into him. He felt one of his salty tears running down his cheek and collect under his sore chin, only dripping once Deidara sniffed with his bloody nose. His face ignited once more with ache and he moaned against it. But once he heard the squeak of a faucet and running water hitting the bottom of the metal bucket he raised his head up towards the sound, wondering what monstrous thing Kisame could be thinking to do with another form of the basic liquid. With the stop of water and heavy footsteps heading their way, the blonde shinobi again held his head forward, soldier-like without defiance. The more he obliged, the less wrath he'd receive, at least in theory. The eldest male again entered his bedroom with the pail, but Deidara's eyes were alerted with a subtle movement emitting from the bucket. He looked closely and saw steam raising, settling a stone in his stomach.

"This should get rid of that chill, my little minx. Now hold still or you're gonna regret it." His victim was obedient, having impersonated a corpse bar his breathing. Kisame smiled approvingly and rubbing his hand over Itachi's ass once more, delighted in the touch and overall submission. He reached over behind him and held a new instrument in his hand, a plain funnel. Deidara bit his tongue and struggled to remain silent. The raven-hair, still staring into space was unaware of what was happening and barely reacted to the mouth of the utensil being thrusted into him. Itachi's only remaining eye rolled around lazily, having lost the will to fight or engage in any way. But as his sight fell on his fellow prisoner, the intense fear in Deidara's eyes caught his attention, but all curiosities were lost to the sound of pouring water and the worst burn he'd ever felt. With insides scorching, the Uchiha could only pray that the strength of his screams would force out his lungs and kill him quickly.

Inuyasha ran as fast as he ever had in his entire life, knowing that every second he spent could be another second closer Deidara was to some horrible tragedy. The half demon had to shake his head to clear the thought away; he had to believe that he would make it in time lest he abandon all hope and curl up to whiter where he stood. No. He would find Deidara and end the life of that lowly piece of shit that had taken him away while the hanyou's back was turned. With demon blood raging through his system, Inuyasha managed to make the journey in record time and was over the cliff and into the wolf demons' camp in two and a half hours.

His arrival stirred up one hell of a commotion within the clan, but not a creature raised a claw to stop him without a word from their commander. With Kouga nowhere in sight, the rabble was without direction, staring dumbly as their home was invaded by the familiar half demon.

Through all the ruckus two voices of 'semi-reason' arrived, Kouga's two right hand men parting the gawking and anxious wolves to lead in their chief's absence.

"Inuyasha? Weren't you here like a few hours ago," Hakaku spoke, walking backwards to keep up with the hanyou.

"I'm back, where's Kouga?" Inuyasha was not to be deferred, continuing though the camp in search of the clan leader.

"Well he's kinda busy, Inu-san, so why don't we-" Ginta began, but he was pushed to the side as the hanyou walked right into the mouth of the den, alerting all of the dwellers of the intruder. A few females growled with pups behind them, a group of youths challenging him as well, but all were ignored as he marched to the back of the cave were he could smell Kouga's scent the strongest.

"Wait! Inuyasha don't go in there!" Hakaku called after the half demon, but was far too late as the silver-haired man turned a tight corner and came into a warm den, full of the overwhelming scents of Kouga, heat and sex. Inuyasha was almost sorry for a moment, realizing that he would be interrupting the leader's _'all-important'_ mating, but shrugged it off as the real reason for his return rushed back into the forefront of his mind.

Through the thick aroma of pheromones and intercourse and the desperate wailing of the bitch underneath him, Kouga was completely unaware of the intruder in his private chamber. But this was soon remedied as Inuyasha shamelessly grabbed Kouga's shoulder and pulled him back, making the leader perfectly aware of his presence.

"I need a favor."

"What the **FUCK**?" the startled demon shouted, stopping mid copulation and turning a frustrated and angry glare to the interrupting hanyou. "Can you not see I'm fucking busy shithead? Get the fuck out! I don't care what you need, I'll kill you as soon as I'm done here!"

But to his horror the damage had been done.

"Who the fuck is that?" the female screamed, throwing discarded clothes over her exposed skin, cringing to the stench of unfamiliar animal and loosing all interest in the heated moment. Quickly she struggled against her current lover and eventually untangled herself, pressing her cloths and armor to her naked body the best she could and took off. Kouga growled and demanded her return, but she had already dove into another's room.

"Well now that you're not busy, I need your help now."

"You're a real piece of shit, Inuyasha, you know that?" Kouga snarled, snatching his sarong and wrapping it hastily around his waist before turning to face the intrusive half demon. "What the fuck could _possibly_ be so fucking important that you have to interrupt me while I'm **MATING?**"

"Kisame took him."

"Took who, baka?" Kouga began collecting his armor and returning it to his body.

"**Deidara!** He fucking _took_ him! Itachi came to mess with him, and he brought _Kisame_ along! When I got home the whole village was burned to the ground and they said he took him after they fought. We have to go get them."

"_We_? What the fuck are talking about 'we'?"

Inuyasha grumbled to himself as the raven-hair finished off his cloths, leaving the love-nest to walk amongst the others again.

"I need your help, Kouga. I can't do this on my own. Remember last time… I don't want to ask, dammit, but I need you help!"

Pulling himself together, Kouga managed to _calmly_ dawn his armor and replace his fur, making the desperate Inuyasha wait for him to finish redressing before offering anything.

"I told you how it is before, dog shit. My help has rates. One night with your blonde… actually, you already cost _me_ one fuck, so better make that two nights."

"Fuck you, it ain't gonna happen. Plus he doesn't want you, you jackass! Would you stop messing around and help me! I know that Itachi's crazy, but I don't know what that shark monster's gonna do, so if we start now, maybe we'll get there before anything really happens."

"No deal, mutt-face. You owe me big time now and you'll owe me even more for my help. It's the blonde or nothing. I got priorities too you know. And really, what's two nights with him to you anyway, at least in comparison with the rest of his human life? I'll save him, take my nights, then he's all yours for the rest of forever… but if you don't agree, he'll wind up on the wrong end of that ninja-mother's sword and end up splattered across the walls of the Akatsuki. It's your choice."

"Godammit, Kouga… fuck this. I'm not letting you near him and that's it. I'll do whatever else, be your slave or do something humiliating, but you're not touching Deidara. Why would I save him from one evil just to throw him to another? He's not just another one of your bitches, fuck-face, he actually means something to me. Godammit, if you're not willing to help I'll go by myself and if I don't get a miracle I'll probably die trying. So you know what, fuck you. I'll do something else, but stop asking about him. You can't have him."

"See, you wouldn't be that possessive if you had more than one bitch. Honestly, sometimes I don't understand you, Inuyasha." He was doing it again; that wolf demon was shrugging off the meaningful, hard-hitting things the mutt said, just like he always had. "Look, it's not too much to ask for two nights, you'll barely notice he's gone, and it's not like I'll chew him up or keep him forever like Itachi or fish-face. You know me, shithead, I'm a demon of my word, and I swear I'll –"

"No. You're not having him. If I can't get it through your thick skull with regular talk, then I'll tell you like a demon; He's mine. He's my mate and not one of your bitch wolves. I'm alpha of our pack and you can't have my mate, that's it! Get it? That offer is not on the fucking table, so _**drop **_**it**!" At this point, Inuyasha was actually snarling to the wolf demon, oblivious to the fact he was in Kouga's den surrounded by Kouga's men. But that didn't matter. Deidara was not for sale. No exceptions. "I'm asking you, and I don't ask anyone… ever. Will you help me? I will pay you back, however you want, but you can't have Deidara."

"Well what do I fucking get out of it if not the one thing you've got that I value?" The wolf demon crinkled his nose as if sizing up all of the hanyou's assets and weighing their viability. "Tetsusaiga? I can't use it. Your house? I've got a whole fortress in the caves. The robes off your back? My armor's more powerful than even the hair of the fire-rat. You've got nothing that I want but that exotic fruit, so tell me; if not with Deidara, how will you repay me?"

A fair question, Inuyasha wasn't sure how to answer. He was willing to do anything to save Deidara. That was the simple fact. Anything. So what did he have to offer?

The hanyou swallowed every inch of bile into the bottom of his stomach in attempts to not ruin his only chance at aid to save the one he loved.

"It may not mean a lot right now, but I can offer you me. Now hear me out," Inuyasha said as Kouga pushed off the offer, knowing he'd have to do a little convincing if it would work.

"I know that doesn't mean anything right now. But I'm willing to do anything to get him back safely, and I mean anything, including have your back for the rest of my days. That means I wouldn't owe you one or two favors you can only cash in once… I'm a loyal guy, and I don't make many promises because when I do make one, I stick to it come hell or high water. If I didn't need you I wouldn't be saying all this shit. I can be you ally… your friend. No matter what, I'll help you out. So I'm asking… as a friend… will you help me?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The chamber was filled with a death-like silence that was broken only by the desperate wheezing of a wounded man. Chained to the wall like a slave, he'd been punched, kicked and cut for hours; beaten into submission like a disobedient dog. Everything hurt, like his body was one big bruise and so much as turning his head made his muscles scream in protest. Death could only come as a reward at this point, a let up in his suffering, an easing of the pain, and yet for the first time in his life, Deidara was afraid to die. In the past his life meant nothing, fleeting and beautiful, but inevitably short, and such was how life was. There was no need to come to terms with death, for without death life would surely dull and erode away in the sands of time. But not now. Now life meant something because life had more purpose than to be beautiful and artistic. There was something of substance to be lived for, and it was that precious gem that the young ninja clung onto even after his body was past the point of giving up.

Time in his prison was impossible to judge. With no windows and the only door being sealed off, the room was dark except the newly replaced tank of jellyfish, the creatures simply floating along the current of the tanks water input. It could have been hours since Kisame had left the room to fill his gullet, or it could have been a few seconds. With the other captive passed out from the brutal torture, Deidara was left alone to contemplate their situation. How long would it take for someone to save them… or a more terrifying thought… would they be saved? As Itachi had said once before, he was at his end, and sooner or later the Mist-nin would take things too far and end up killing him, and the blonde knew once the Uchiha was gone, he wasn't going to be around long either.

In this strange and terrifying circumstance, Deidara clung silently to the other victim's life like a safety rope, unable to pull himself up or do anything but hope Itachi didn't fall. There was nothing he could say, no words he could give the man who's life held them both in the balance to rouse him or encourage him to stay alive. He could only wait and hope that the ex-Leaf ninja could keep breathing long enough for a saving grace.

It seemed as though instead of a prayer answered another plague of hell was being dealt upon him once more as even through the thick door a noise was heard vibrating through the halls. Even with sore muscles, the shinobi's body hardened in anticipation of what was coming back to meet him. It might have been the sound bouncing off the hollow halls of the massive hideout or the damage he already had received to his cranium, but the artist could have sworn there was a second set of footsteps…

The blonde shivered slightly, swallowing and firming his resolution, knowing that with Itachi still unconscious, the wrath would again be turned on the one victim still awake. Deidara squared his shoulders off and did his best to remain alert, lest he be beaten for dozing again. There was a strategy to Kisame, and it involved knuckling under, accepting his battery and showing only respect and fealty in return. Defiance would only spell disaster. So there the artist sat, with his back to the wall and his head propped up straight on his tired neck, looking down so as not to meet the eyes of his captor but not hanging his head to portray exhaustion. Still, he could not stay the more rapid beating of his heart as the door clicked and began to rise.

He kept his eyes glued to the stone ground and waited for the occupant to enter, but what paralyzed him was the sudden rush of a warm body to him, and suddenly smooth, alabaster arms that clung to his stiff torso for dear life surrounded his frame. Before his eyes could move his nose had already taken in the scent of the attacker, and his heart melted at the perfume of forest and the musk of his lover. A blanket of silver hair covered his vision, and fresh tears welled in the corners of his eyes, making them sting.

"I knew you'd come un."

"I'm here, kid… I'm here."

For a moment the two stayed like that, suspended in each other's scents with cheeks pressed flush together. Inuyasha murmured his reassurance over and over again, fighting off the powerful memory of the last time his lover had been taken and he was nearly too late. After what felt like an age of heartening nuzzling and whispering, the half demon dug his jaws into the heavy shackles that bound the younger man to the stone wall, shattering the metal and setting Deidara free. As soon as the artist's arms were loose, they were wrapped securely around Inuyasha's neck, holding him close as if determined to keep him there forever.

A sense of danger lingered around them, knowing that at any moment the monster that had caused all this could return and ruin their moment, but instead another intruder rounded the corner and stood by the doorway.

"Come on, Inu-baka, he'll be back any minute now," the second trespasser growled, his feet braced for a quick escape.

"Shut up, wolf-shit, we need a minute."

"You ain't got a minute, now let's-" Kouga stopped as he had glanced through the room, finding the second captive in the shadows of the room. "I.. Itachi? Is he…?"

"No un," Deidara muttered through Inuyasha's shoulder, "he's not dead un."

"Too bad," the hanyou whispered. Understanding that there would be plenty of time to comfort and repair his mate back home, the mutt stood up, bringing up the tired ninja with him and carefully placing him on his back. With no resistance, Deidara lay comfortably against his lover and wrapped his weary arms around the man's neck. But as the two demons began to leave, Deidara turned his head back to the Uchiha, the half blind man breathing heavily in his unconsciousness.

"We can't leave him un."

"Like hell we can't!" Inuyasha suddenly stopped, almost knocking his mate off by mistake. "He can rot here for all I care."

"No Inu… he can't stay. He'll die if he stays."

"I hope he does. Serves the bastard right. What the hell do you care anyway?"

Deidara sighed and placed his cheek against Inuyasha's shoulder, thinking back to his reconciliation for earlier.

"We can't leave him here to die. He's changed… not a lot, but enough. Kouga… can you take him?"

The wolf demon turned and looked over his shoulder as if he couldn't believe the blonde man's question.

"What, you want me to take a broken, smelly old human into _my_ hospitality? Are you nuts, Blondie? Worthless bastard like that would be a chew-toy for my pups."

Still Deidara craned his neck over the half breed's shoulder to meet Kouga's eyes, appearing shockingly resolute in his near-collapse.

"Please, Kouga. I'm not asking you to take him in un. Just carry him back through the well with you. After that you can care for him or abandon; I won't ask anything more un. I… It's just wrong to think that something so helpless was tortured to death when there was something I could have done un."

Trying to seem indifferent, the wolf tribe leader stepped around them and to the bed, looking over the mangled man before him. It was a scary sight, Itachi's flesh still littered with bruised and scraps, and now with ribbons of dried blood caked down his legs, and Kouga couldn't help but crinkle up his nose in disgust. The Uchiha had been laying on his stomach, but quickly the wolf demon rolled him to his back, scooping him up and holding under his back and knees like that of a bridal hold. The bruised rave-hair subconsciously encloses his hands around Kouga's neck, the pleasant touch lulling his body into a sense of instant trust. He was like a child, innocent and looking for a comfort. The older man sighed and readjusted his hands, getting a better hold and clutching the frail body closer to him.

"Lead the way, mutt."

Inuyasha nodded, realizing this wasn't the time and place to jab at the sighting of Kouga's sudden tender side.

The wolf demon crinkled his nose against the scent of the ninja in his arms; the man he carried smelled like a corpse, reeking of blood, bile and abuse. Itachi hung like a wet rag in the yokai's grip, swaying this way and that as they made their way quickly and quietly through the corridors the way they had come. Deidara was silent, keeping his eyes shut and his nose pressed into his partner's shoulder but concentrating, using the last bit of his strength to feel the air for Kisame's chakras. It seemed they were home free almost to the swirled staircase that lead up and out of the labyrinth when the youngest tightened his grip suddenly on Inuyasha's collar, becoming much more alert. Not to frighten his mate, however, he leaned forward such that his nose almost touched the half demon's pointed ear and whispered urgently.

"Run, Inuyasha un."

As the words rushed into his ear, so did the distant sound of sloshing water, and as such a tiny wave rolled over his feet, making the group turn back to see water begin to ride in along the floor. The two demon men picked up the pace, turning their fast walk into a hearty jog, not wanting to further injure the cargo they carried. Their bare feet slapped against the wet floor, the sound filling the halls.

From down the hall they could all hear the breaking of furniture as the only other person inside the compound tore apart his room in search of his captives, and the two older men again picked up the pace lest they be found. But too bad for them, they were on the straight away to the staircase and were in plain sight when Kisame rounded the corner, almost missing the exit as he barreled through. With a mighty roar the large shinobi flashed a few hand signs and raised his arms, and instantly there came a wall of water, sealing off the exit that the men were only a few feet away from. The men crashed into the hardened liquid, and Kouga lost his grip on the Uchiha. Itachi came crashing down to the ground, moaning from the painful jostling. The wolf demon quickly stepped over to place himself between him and the fish man, slightly bent over in a defensive stance.

The behemoth stared down the invaders with cold malice in his fish-like eyes, barring his rows of teeth and suddenly throwing his hands to the ground. Before the intruders and their charges could blink, water exploded from the hall behind Kisame, rushing forward and changing in shape until it took on a whole new consistency. The liquid merged with the Mist shinobi's seemingly boundless chakra, turning into a series of five monster sharks made of pure, roaring water. The fish barreled down the corridor, jaws agape and prepared to devour the trapped enemies, propelled by their own stampede-like flood.

Not able to afford to be gentle, Inuyasha slid his mate off his back and threw him behind, letting him slide against the ground until he was leaning on the wall of water. The blonde's back instantly was soaked and he leaned forewarn until he was leaning on his hands and knees. Through his messy gold hair he watched Inuyasha unleash the Tetsusaiga and sent a wave of bright energy towards the monsters, slicing all in half and causing an explosion or droplets that showered over them all.

There was a pause in the action for a moment while the water from his attack flowed back towards Kisame, rebuilding for another. As his chakras charged and the waters shifted again, Deidara sat up on his knees, leaning backwards and pressed his hands against the wall of water behind him but never taking his eyes off of the raging foe. Across the way, the Mist ninja's water had again transformed, taking on the appearance of a formidable wall of water-knives, each poised to launch forward and tear the other men to shreds. The blonde artist bit his lip, looking up to see the resolute determination on Inuyasha's face but knowing if his strategy persisted, he would eventually be bested in this duel.

"Inuyasha, I want you to listen to me un," the younger man whispered under his breath. The hanyou knew that tone of voice all too well; Deidara was being tactical, a rare and impressive trait. "I want you to aim high, and Kouga, I want you to aim low. The water daggers should have less effect on you, but they'll cut through human flesh like wet paper un. As soon as the seal on the water breaks, I want you to turn around, grab Itachi and run for the stairs un."

Before the hanyou could protest, the dagger wall came surging towards them, and Kouga threw himself at the attack, the Goraishi on his right hand locked for a strong slice. The mutt grumbled and threw himself in as well, and together they threw two massive waves and shattered the pointed water, again filling the narrow hall with rain the drenched all three fighters. The wave hit the creator of the attack mostly, temporarily blinding him as he wiped his face of moisture to face his foes. But in the few seconds the demon men had retreated, the dark haired one scooping up the fallen Uchiha and the other knelt by his mate.

As the soaked hanyou looked up, Deidara had lowered his head as if bracing for an impact. The silver-haired man was about to tell him it was okay to uncoil, but the wall of water behind him suddenly began to glow and in a heartbeat blasted wide open with explosive force that could only be linked to the detonation of Deidara's art. As soon as the wall had melted away, the young ninja wrapped his arms around Inuyasha's neck in an act that told him to make his dash and not to look back.

As the intruders made their escape up the flight of stairs, slowly behind them the water that flooded the room began engulfing the steps, eating them up as the tower climbed after its targets. But with speed from demon blood, the two men reached the opening, throwing themselves out of the reach of the deadly water the threatened to pull them back down to their deaths. Once past the stairwell, Inuyasha and Kouga booked it to the edge of the lair, running straight towards the iron door to the entrance and called out "Rei", unlocking the seal to the door and allowing it to swing out and unblock their flee. From there it was a quick dash to the well and it was home free.

But a clean getaway was too good for the quartet, as a frightening roar erupted behind them. Looking over their shoulders, the largest Akatsuki member stood in the doorway, arms above his head with large fists shaking. His great teeth were bared, and before they knew it he was charging straight for them.

Inuyasha stopped, not wanting to take the inevitable fight back to their time, to the already ruined village. Kouga saw this and was barely able to stop himself.

"What are you doing, shit-head, we have to go!" He clutched Itachi's body close, ignoring the fact the man was affectionately clinging to him as well.

"We can't have him follow us back, now follow my lead!"

With Deidara slung in his arms, he let go of the man's legs and let him stand before him with his arms still wrapped around his neck, unsheathing his weapon once more and sending another Wind Scar directly at the enemy. Quick to react, Kisame easily dodged the wave and chuckled to himself.

"What dumb animals. Don't they know I'm one of the best shinobi in all of-?" But what he hadn't counted on was the second attack, Kouga's similar strike traveling in the path of his escape of the first assault. All at once the energy wave hit him, slicing all along his vertical middle and knocking him back. His massive body hit the ground and the pair of fighters still standing watched the monster.

There was a moment of held breath and bitten lips before the behemoth rose, trembling slightly, using a knee for support. There was a clean cut running from his right cheek all the way down to the end of his cloak, but much to Kouga's chagrin, the grey skin was barely broken. Kisame chuckled darkly, exhaling deeply through his nose and puffing out a billow of steam his lips contorted into a wicked smirk.

"Shark skin," he growled, "is a marvel of nature. It is thick and durable, but on a microscopic level, ingrained with groves that channel water which in turn channels energy." Shifting slightly, the Mist ninja drew the massive weapon from his back. Something like an immense cudgel wrapped in protective gauze. "It makes the best armor because it is alive and it will heal quickly, but the sharp edges of every scale can tear you to shreds if rubbed the wrong way." Quickly he tugged on the end of the off-white bandaging, unwinding his weapon partially and revealing it to be covered end to end with large serrated scales, each gleaming with deadly sharpness in the moonlight.

The villain's sword was enormous, matching its master in size compared to the others, and Inuyasha and Kouga both shuddered at it. Samehada was menacing in Kisame's grip, and the fish man laughed manically as he positioned it for a strike. Inuyasha too held his sword out, letting Deidara go to stand behind him. Seeing the sword as a possible equal to his in shear physicality, the hanyou launched himself into battle, bringing his Tetsusaiga to clash against Samahada in a spray of sparks. Inuyasha pushed his weight against Kisame, his demon strength matching the other's sheer weight. With the two gridlocked for the moment, Kouga saw Inuyasha's intention and abandoned Itachi for the second time, placing him near Deidara before taking off. With the massive ninja's attention on Inuyasha, his back was completely exposed for an attack. He quickly circled around and clawed out waves of power in their direction, slicing through Kisame's cloak until it was ribbons and hung as debris from his large frame.

As the muscular flat of his back was exposed, the larger man looked over his shoulder with wild hatred burning in his eyes. With a powerful shove, he pushed Inuyasha back, separating their blades and giving him the opportunity to whirl on the wolf demon. The immense sword of scales came crashing down, scraping down Kouga's flank and leaving deep scores in his metal armor before deflecting and digging deep into the ground with a heavy 'thud.' With Kisame's back turned to him, the hanyou narrowed his eyes, seeing as the shinobi bent over to gain leverage behind his blade, red streaks were revealed where the soft tissue that joined tiny, rough scales in his skin together had been severed by the yokai's persistent attack. The markings were tiny, like little creases hidden just underneath the ridges of the razor-sharp scales, but there all the same. In a heartbeat, however, the shark-man had turned back to face Inuyasha, lunging after him with Samehada drawn back in preparation to land powerful blow.

Inuyasha ground his teeth together and placed his hand against the edge of his sword to brace against the massive blow. It came down hard enough to deep his heels deep into the earth and almost forced him to his knees, but he grunted and pushed back, his knees slowly straightening out to stand and match his enemy once more. Again occupied, Kisame's now injured back was exposed and Kouga shakily got back to his feet. The swing to his side had demolished his armor and torn the surface of his flesh surrounding is ribcage, making him clutch it roughly. But seeing the bleeding from under the small scales boosted his moral and again he attacked, moving in closer this time and racking his claws up against his back, like stroking an animal against the fur. With the assault, he actually managed to dislodge a few dozen tiny shells and uncovered sensitive flesh beneath. Ripping into it, he only got one good cut into his bare skin before again Kisame shoved him off, but this time the shinobi winced against the massive pain from the new wounds and didn't turn back to Inuyasha in time. The hanyou stole the idea and took his natural claws and scrapped them upwards and scaled away the shinobi's natural armor for his chest, and as his hand reached its highest mark he reached back where he had placed his blade and brought down the Tetsusaiga, pulling both hands down to cut his huge blade through Kisame's upper body.

Throwing his head back and howling, Kisame's hand faltered on his weapon, allowing it to slip through his fingers and fall to the ground with a clattering of scales. Like a rush of cold fire, the pain of the new wound caused chakra to surge through the ninja's system, pulling through his veins like adrenaline and driving his shallow mind mad with fury. In an instant, his fingers were wrapped around Inuyasha's great fang, drawing blood up from his palms but holding to the blade with a firm grip. With a swift jerk, he managed to nearly throw the half demon's balance and tear the invaluable weapon from his grasp, but no such luck as the hanyou held fast. The quick movement gave him the chance, however, to advance, and before the silver-haired man could raise an arm in defense, and iron-hard fist met him forcefully in the cheek, knocking him backwards.

With the sheer force of the punch, Inuyasha felt the concentrated pressure to his cheek put so much strain onto his bone that it cracked, making the side of his face explode in pain. He continued back until his back slammed against the ground.

"Inuyasha!" Deidara yelped and instantly he was to the hanyou's side, the pair still far back enough and out of range. He pressed a hand worriedly on the half-breed's chest, and the mutt wrapped his hand round the others' for reassurance.

"….ow," Inuyasha whispered, not able to say much through the throbbing pain in his now fractured cheekbone. He allowed himself only a few seconds to lie and let his mate worry over him before he returned to battle, standing up and blinking past the sting now radiating into his eye socket.

Kouga now had Kisame's attention, the demon fighting off wild blows from the nin's bare fists. He continuously brought up his left arm to try and block his opponent's fist and tried for a stab with his right, only get a few nicks onto the man's face. This served only to anger him more until he was in a blind fury, beating on Kouga until his arm would eventually fall off.

Inuyasha drug his sword through the dirt until he was again in the circle of damage, bringing Tetsusaiga behind him to make a full swing. He began charging as a rather powerful blow to Kouga's face sent him flying back, leaving Kisame open. Inuyasha yelled as he brought his mighty blade down again and carved another slice into the large man's torso, breaking through almost to vital organs and freezing him in his stance. Pulling out his steel, Inuyasha kicked Kisame's body away and the foe staggered away, clutching the gash in this chest.

With clumsy fingers, the Mist ninja failed to pinch the severed flesh together and began to pace backwards, leaving scarlet stains on the moonlit grass as he made a wary, cautious retreat. There was no way he could continue to fight and expect to survive with ribs so shattered his lungs might spill from his chest, so with pain and hatred burning in his eyes Kisame paced back towards the door to the Akatsuki's lair. As he was sliding back into the shadows, he bent to gather his mighty sword, dragging it along behind him like a carcass. As he dissolved into the pitch-blackness of the hideout, however, he looked up and met eyes with Inuyasha for a painfully long moment, gritting his teeth against the pain but somehow managing a sneer.

"You and I haven't seen the last of each other, dog-boy. And next time we do meet, there will be more than _your_ blood on my hands."

Before the shinobi lurked off into the darkness, Inuyasha sunk his blade into the dirt, leaning against it and flipped him the bird, adding a well-deserved insult to injury. Kisame growled throatily, but still disappeared into the dark, and the remaining warriors slightly sunk at the end of danger. Returning back to his charge, Kouga marched back to Itachi, helping him to his feet to again sling him onto his back. He brought the man to his back, hissing as he flexed his torn side but pressed on, making his way back to the well. Inuyasha on the other hand remained at his stance, still staring off into the opening of the Akatsuki hideout until finally the large iron doors slid together and locked, the thump of gears and latches moving ringing in his ears. As the door became still, the true sign of the end of the fight, he collapsed to his knee, holding the side of his face tenderly.

Before he could turn to look and see that Deidara was unharmed, there was a pair of rough, warm hands on his shoulders as the blonde craned his neck over him to see the damaged cheek without poking his nose in where it wasn't wanted. Even through the hanyou's fingers his mate could see the deep purple sinking in to the severely damaged cheek. It worried the young artist, but he dare not touch it, even in an attempt to make it feel better, lest he hurt his mate more. Giving Inuyasha a silent, apologetic look, the shinobi squeezed the hanyou's shoulders, slowly massaging them as if in thanks for his rescue or his tolerance.

Wordlessly the hanyou placed his hand over his mate's. After a moment he stood, the blonde mirroring the action and waited until the hybrid had sheathed his weapon to again touch his lover. Inuyasha turned to face him, and Deidara leaned up and kissed his mate on his uninjured cheek, then returned his face to Inuyasha's shoulder and wrapped his arms around his waist for a moment of silence. The hanyou agreed and draped his own sore arms over the blonde's shoulders, enclosing slightly around his head to keep his cheek pressed against his collarbone.

The younger man buried his nose in Inuyasha's clavicle; shutting his eyes and holding still save for the slight sway of his uneasy knees. With a soft sigh, the artist began to murmur an apology, mostly muffled by the half breed's robe, but still just intelligible.

"I'm sorry that I put you through all this un… I said I'd get stronger, but I didn't keep that promise… I shouldn't make you do things like this un-"

Inuyasha tried to smile, but the action made his face ache, so he simply rubbed the back of his mate's head.

"Well," his whispered, careful not to move his jaw much and apply more pressure to his cheeks, "I didn't keep my promise last time we were here… so I think we're even now."

Deidara tried to force a smile as well, but barely managed an awkward grimace in light of the situation.

"Come on," he hummed, taking the half demon's hand in his own and rubbing his thumb over his lover's rugged knuckles, "let's get you back to Kaede, get that cheek looked at and get a rock over the well again un."

"I don't think a rock is gonna keep him out, kid…" The dog demon pulled him along towards their home, watching him closely in case he needed to carry the younger man again. But as they took their time returning to the portal, Deidara remained poised enough to walk beside Inuyasha at a comfortable pace. "So what did the old bat say she found anyway? Didn't really get time to ask you what you found out."

"Well I didn't really get a chance to talk with her much at all un. No sooner had I gotten there than Itachi showed up and turned things into a mess. Then after I nearly killed him, which I feel horrible for by the way, Kisame showed up and nearly destroyed the village trying to get a hold of me un. I tried to lure him away into the forest where I might get the tactical advantage and get him away from the civilians, but he just started killing people in cold blood. I couldn't let that happen un, and I did something horrible…" Deidara lowered his eyes and looked at the ground in shame, pausing in his steps as if his heart was too heavy to be carried any longer. "I gave up un."

The hanyou sighed, pulling Deidara a few more stepped until he was again in his arms, a bit of a looser hold.

"You did it for the people. You knew he'd kill everyone, so you let yourself get taken. It was brave… really stupid, but brave." Inuyasha leaned his lips into the man's forehead, only placing his kiss onto the skin lest his fracture flare up. "See? You're a good person."

"So… you're not disappointed un?" Deidara looked up with dull hope returning to his sullen eyes to meet gazes with his partner. "I mean, you don't think I'm weak because I gave up instead of fighting him un? I just… I know you would have fought him tooth and nail to protect those people, but I just rolled over and gave him what he wanted un." His face again twisted into a look of dissatisfaction, even as the hanyou gently cupped the sides of his lover's face and stroked his thumbs across the ninja's dirty cheeks.

"Someone told me that 'some of the best battles won are the ones you don't fight'. I'm pissed as hell… but you're safe now, and that's all that counts. Now let's get out of here before Kisame does some healing-jutsu thing and comes back. Plus we can find out what that old witch found out."

And with that the pair was off again, with Kouga surprisingly nowhere in sight. It made the journey back surprisingly peaceful in spite of the thick mangle of vegetation that impeded their way to the well.

After Inuyasha had jumped ahead of the younger man, Deidara sat on the lip of the well, easing himself in until he fell, falling into the whirlpool of mystic space.

As the vortex of darkness and light swirling together faded from around Deidara, he found that the ground once again became solid under his feet, and the wooden walls of the well returned to surround him. The blonde looked around his feet and was careful not to step on the bones littering the floor. A hand shot down to meet him, and taking it Inuyasha pulled him up, catching him dramatically as he flew out of the hole.

Finally on the correct side of the vortex, Inuyasha sniffed the air, hoping to at least determine where the wolf demon had disappeared off to, but finding his scent heading northward accompanied by a whiff of blood and Itachi. Deciding to give his new ally his space and time to lick his wounds after the exhausting battle, the hanyou took Deidara's hand in his own and began to lead the way just as carefully back to Kaede's village.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The pair returned to the burnt village, sheepishly sneaking into the miko's tent before they could see the true impact of the disaster. She sat quietly in the corner with a babe wrapped in her arms, a spoon in her free hand. See looked from the corner of her eye to see the visitors.

"I'm glad to see your return, Deidara-sama. I would come congratulate you on your escape, but this little one is in need of my care. Please sit, eat and rest." She looked back to the infant, dabbing the babe's lips with the substance she fed him. "I will tend to that cheek, Inuyasha, just a soon and he eats a few more spoons of this meal. Poor thing hasn't eaten in days, had a terrible illness that wouldn't let him keep food down."

Out of nowhere the younger man sat next to the priestess with the babe in her arms and gave the infant a soft smile. The child squirmed in Kaede's arms and she gently bounced him to calm him before he began to make a fuss. Deidara sighed quietly and watched with intent focus as the miko tended to the baby, managing to get another few spoonfuls past his chubby little lips. Of course the elder noticed her guest's fascination with the tiny, young thing in her arms, but didn't bring it up, merely smiling to herself as she wiped the infant's chin.

Inuyasha on the other hand laid himself out on the ground, tired from the intense fight with the behemoth. He could hear the soft breathing of the baby, and he let the tiniest smile out before relaxing his face.

"So, Kaede, where's that scroll or whatever you have?"

"Ah yes," she replied looking up and nodding towards the far corner where a package wrapped in animal skins was laying. "It's there, if you'll fetch it for me." Inuyasha grunted and reached for it, grabbing the well-worn hide with the tips of his claws in an effort not to move from where he'd laid. "I'd skimmed it earlier, and there is a passage near the middle which tells of a powerful sealing incantation which was used to lock away a powerful and malicious spirit many years ago." She spooned another mouthful of food to the babe in her arms, rocking him gently as he cooed softly.

"And you think we can use this sealing spell to close the well off for good un?" Deidara asked, making a conscious effort to keep his voice down while the infant was still in Kaede's arms.

"That I am not sure of," The miko grunted, shifting her charge carefully in her arms. "The spell is sure to work on spirits and demons, but those with power in your time are neither, if I'm not mistaken." Her brow furrowed, multiplying the deep wrinkles which divided her aged skin. "The procedure described is also difficult, and would require much preparation." Her eyes moved from Deidara to Inuyasha, and back. "It would take weeks at least to gather all of the necessary materials, and doing so may put you at further risk."

"Do you have a free moment un? Do you think you could show us what needs to be done?"

"If you'll only give me the time to return this one to his mother, I believe that can be managed."

The three arrived back at the well, making their way slowly so as not to rush their elderly companion. They hadn't expected to have company, however; Kouga and Itachi still had not left after returning several hours ago. Kouga defensively claimed that it was because though Itachi was now conscious, he still couldn't walk and the wolf demon wasn't about to carry him all the way back to the mountains. Nobody argued, letting it slide as Kaede laid the ancient parchment out on the rim of the well and scanned the sealing procedure. She stood back and motioned with her hands as she described the runic pattern they would have to paint around the well in blood.

"And at each corner of the hexagon, a bowl of purified water is to be placed, each with a different artifact. Here a whole lotus flower, and there the fang of a serpent, and adjacent –"

"What's all this for?" Itachi interrupted quietly from where he sat beside the god tree, his voice having not the strength to be any louder or more forceful than an apathetic murmur. The question earned him a sharp glare from Inuyasha, who needless to say wasn't thrilled the demon and shinobi had stuck around.

"It's a special spell to seal the well, now keep your mouth shut and don't interrupt" the hanyou growled, his canine ears folding back like a warning. Itachi seemed to ignore the threat completely, pushing himself more upright on shaky arms.

"Why are you going about it in such a convoluted way though?"

"Are you saying you've got a better way, shit-stain?" Inuyasha snarled, wrinkling his nose and taking a pace towards Itachi, squaring his shoulders off and trying to intimidate the raven-haired man into quiet submission.

"As a matter of fact, I am." Itachi narrowed his eyes, facing Inuyasha with fearless rebellion in spite of his defenselessly weak state. "Who do you think figured out how to control the well in the first place?" Inuyasha went quiet, defiantly forcing his expression to remain a fearsome grimace, but his ears betrayed his interest and perked up. The ninja rolled his eyes mockingly and sighed. "You're overcomplicating things. It's a wishing well, so throw something in there and see what happens."

"What the hell are you playing at, weasel?" Inuyasha growled, quickly glancing over at the well as if the new information might have changed anything.

"I mean the well forms its magical link through time by using artifacts as anchoring points." When he received more than one blank stare, Itachi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "By giving the well an item from a specific time period, you create a link to that time, generally speaking. Example, to link this time to my own, I cast an ancient coin into the well – after much careful study, of course."

Inuyasha grimaced, and glanced back at Kaede and Deidara, his snarl fading into a firm frown as he considered this information. Of course it would be easier to form a link with the past, as artifacts from the past still exist, but linking the well to the future would require something which hadn't been created yet. He didn't want to risk linking the well to a land of prehistoric monsters, or futuristic monsters for that matter. There was only one time he felt comfortable even considering, and even then it made him feel apprehensive.

"Inuyasha…" Kaede started in, no doubt thinking the same thing as the half-breed, but he silenced her with a quick snap.

"I know, Kaede!" The hanyou's brow knitted, and he pivoted, taking a pace towards the well and placing his hands on the rim. All the while he wondered to himself if this was something he had the strength to do.

"But what kind of artifact are we going to use un?" Deidara questioned, trying to break the tension, "I mean we obviously don't have anything from further in the future than the time of ninjas un." He was about to continue, but looking up the artist caught an eyeful of Inuyasha's somber expression and went quiet.

"I've got something" the silver-haired man finally murmured, "and it will link the well to a time I trust completely." He trailed off looking down to the folds of his scarlet haori and frowning. After much hesitation, he reached into the front of his robe, fingering and lifting a thin, golden chain with a heart pendant attached. The trinket had been so buried in the half-demon's clothing Deidara didn't even question why he'd never seen it before. Sighing, Inuyasha brushed his thumb over the pendant, sliding his claw around the edge until it opened down the side. Inside was a poorly-cut photograph of himself and Kagome taken several years ago and significantly worse for the wear. With a heavy sigh he closed the locket and clutched it in his fist.

"What now, then?" he asked, glancing sideways at Itachi with less-than-solid determination. "Do I make a wish, or say a spell?"

"Just cast it into the well," replied the shinobi quietly, feeling the gravity of Inuyasah's decision weighing on him more heavily than expected.

With the locket in his fist, the hanyou paused, hesitating as if second-guessing weather the treasure in his hand was worth spending. He'd held on to the necklace for so many years at first because he hoped she would return some day, but later because he merely wanted to cling to the memory of his long-lost friend for fear that she might fade entirely from memory. He swallowed a nervous qualm and clenched his teeth resolutely, lifting the locket in his fist and letting it slip from his hand and disappear into the abyss of the well below.

The reaction was a lot less eventful than perhaps could be expected; there was a quick flash of light and a quiet crackling sound, like electricity jumping between two wires, then all was still. After the gathered group had done their share of quietly gawking at the well, Deidara was first to offer to investigate the link, but was quickly shot down.

"I'll go" Inuyasha muttered, "I've been there before. I know what to expect." With still another minute's hesitation, the half-breed finally slipped carefully over the lip of the well, vanishing into the pitch-blackness below. He wasn't long; he only stayed long enough to confirm the well now opened up into the Higurashi shrine as it had four years ago. He dared not linger lest the ghosts of his past catch up to him. He only hoped they wouldn't follow him home.

By the time they were on their way back home, the skies were already showing the paleness of dawn. The adrenaline of forcing himself to stay up had long since worn off and artist practically staggered through the front door into their home. Deidara simply removed all but his underwear, disregarding the basin of water where he and the half demon usually washed up before bed, and collapsed face-down, sideways onto the sheets, his feet still hanging off the end of the mattress. He groaned quietly into the blankets and mustered the strength to bat the space beside himself, inviting Inuyasha to join him for a well-deserved rest.

The elder smiled warily, slightly inflaming his cheek. He sat himself on the edge, untying his robe and throwing them across the way until his chest was bare and lay back sorely. Having used all of his muscles to brace against the solid wall of Kisame had overworked all of his body and even with the soft sheet and mattress enveloping him, the throbbing only subsided until it was a minor annoyance.

The man beside him could hardly keep awake long enough to shimmy a little closer to his lover, wrapping one arm over Inuyasha's chest and pressing his nose against the hanyou's shoulder. His breath came in heavy, exhausted sighs before it evened out into the quiet lull of sleep. With the sounds coming from Deidara having become steady and rhythmic, the half-demon too fought for sleep, but his mind was far too busy to permit him leisure.

With the knowledge that the well was again returned to travel to the 20th century and it was certain that the well was in fact active, an obvious breeze blowing from the bottom that carried the scent of an familiar world. He had breathed it in and to his shock; the wisp of a female's scent had wafted out. A specific female.

_Kagome_, the hanyou thought. _She's been trying to come back too… at least she used to_. The scent had been dull and aged, probably from at least a year ago. _Of course, how could I expect her to not have moved on? It's been four years, stupid… she's living her own life_. He had moved on, hadn't he? Here he lay with a lover pressed to his side, and his own body contained the results of his love and devotion through the form of pain. So why did it bother him?

His mind was churning like a nest of angry hornets, preventing even the thought of sleep from entering his brain. He recalled over a year spent with Kagome, hunting down the fractions of the Shikon Jewel, battling alongside each other and their closest friends. Now it seemed as if the people who had banded together and sworn to protect the world had been scattered to the wind, and yet with the well connecting to the modern era again, things didn't have to stay that way. Kagome could come back! After all the years he had wanted nothing more than for the girl to return, it seemed Inuyasha had only recently changed his mind in favor of a private bond with the ninja on his flank. Yet still memories flooded his brain; memories of the girl he had once fought so hard to protect… the girl who had once died to protect him. There was something about the thought that made his heart leap into his throat.

Still, a quiet murmur brought his attention back to Deidara nestled snugly at his side. The blonde pulled his mate a bit closer in his sleep, resting his cheek against the half demon's muscular shoulder and sighing quietly with contentment.

He sighed and kissed the man's head, wondering what problems would arise if the girl did return to his time. How would Deidara react? With the blonde at his side, it would be hard to deal with his past love interest…

His eyes snapped open to the new idea forming. Not only could Kagome pass through to him… but he could go and visit her. Before introducing her to his new life, he could let her down easy and…

_Unless she's moved on too. Wow… that'll be awkward._ Inuyasha blinked and muddled through the plan, and found it to be for the best. If she had in fact moved on with her life as he hoped, then the reunion would simply be a pleasant, friendly one. If she hadn't… it would only make it worse to have Deidara there to rub salt in the wound. No, if all played out, he'd introduce his new lover to his old flame **after** he talked to her first.

As smoothly as he could, the hanyou rolled away from his collapsed mate, quickly replacing his body where the blonde had been leaned against him with a pillow from the head of the bed. Quickly covering himself with his robes and belting his sword, Inuyasha was retying the bows that held the layers together as he slipped out into the crisp, gray dawn. He glanced over his shoulder once to be sure that Deidara had not awoken while he was taking his secret leave, and when no change came from the home, the half demon stole away into the night, heading as quickly and silently as he could in the direction of the old well.

A simple mission; enter the well, find Kagome and make things right. Hopefully he could wrap it up in one night, not wanting to be away from his recently traumatized mate for longer than that. His feet carried his worn body quickly to his destination, and without hesitation he jumped feet first into the old wooden hole.

Back at their home, the blonde stirred in his sleep, his hand searching out in his unconsciousness for the warmth of his lover and returning with nothing. Finally Deidara roused himself to a basic state of awake, and felt around in the darkness for humid flesh to press himself against. But as his brain worked through the lack of such a substance, he realized that he was alone in the large bed. He slowly sat himself up and looked about the room, not much light outlining the rest of the objects occupying the space. There wasn't another person to be seen, and the only noise to be heard was the gently swaying breeze outside rustling the tall grasses in the clearing.

"Nnnnn Inu-kun… where'd you get to un? Inu?..." but with no reply the shinobi became worried. He looked to the spot where the mutt had been residing and found strategically placed pillows.

The younger man dug his palms underneath the pillows and found the space in the sheets where the half demon had left a dent to be as cool as the rest of the morning. Deidara frowned and wiped across his eyes with his wrist. He wanted to get up and go look for the other man, to make sure that he was still okay and unshaken by his battle with Kisame, but the artist found he could hardly lift his own head. He let out a long, low whine, though no one was around to hear it and let himself collapse back against the pillows, too distraught to get back to sleep but too exhausted still to move.

Five hundred years later…

In the time of technology and thriving of humans, a rather tired hanyou emerged from well, looking around and analyzing the scene. Not much had changed in four years, the shrine still standing to keep the well safe, and the same familiar scents of the shrine-keepers lingering in the grain of the wood. He crawled over the edge of the opening quietly, it being in the early hours of the morning in this time as well. No one would be awake at this hour, so Inuyasha simply looked around the memorable house. As he walked around he felt something bump into his leg and looking down found an animal. The old house cat, Boyo, had grown elderly and fat in the time that had passed, and in his old age had ran head first into the man, and he took his time recognizing who the intruder was. Inuyasha couldn't help but give a crooked smile to the cat as he scratched the old tom's spine as he passed.

At least the cat had remembered him… and the thought froze Inuyasha in his stride. Was it possible… Was it a possibility that Kagome had forgotten him? It was understandable if true, she had a regular life to live now, and everyday problems could overlay the memories from such a confusing time. If she had passed the whole thing, the adventures and all of the enemies and friends she had met in the year, off as a dream, then what? If he did show himself and she had denied it, she would surely break down, not able to deal with the return of a nightmare.

As the scenario played in his head, the half-breed had scaled his familiar perching tree that's branched hung by her room, and before he knew it he was looking in on the lit room. She wasn't asleep as expected, but sitting at her desk with what she had explained to him as "homework". As his eyes wandered over her, he realized she had changed. She was taller and… fuller in her feminine curves, not that that made a difference now, being a taken man. She was utterly oblivious to his presence and her window was open with a quiet, jumpy J-pop music floating through the room. He closed his eyes and chuckled. She hadn't changed that much.

But as he began to reminisce over his encounters with the girl, he heard a voice that almost made him loose his footing in the shaded tree.

"Inuyasha?"

The late morning sun was beginning to weasel its way through the tiniest cracks in the otherwise windowless walls into the bedroom. As his energy had gradually returned to his body, Deidara's mind had become more and more awake with worry until finally he could ignore the nagging in his brain no longer and pried his eyes open. He had been hoping that it was only a foul dream that in the middle of the night he had awoken to find Inuyasha missing, replaced by a mound of pillows, but as he sat up and stretched, the ninja was finding the dream to be more of a reality than he'd been telling himself. With disappointment pulling his spirits down, the blonde found his way groggily to the kitchen and made himself a few slices of bread for breakfast, telling himself that Inuyasha would be returning soon. When he stepped out onto the porch, however, the young man took in an eyeful of how late the morning had become and was suddenly all the more ill at ease.

By the time there were footsteps on the porch again; Deidara was almost to his boiling point, all the tiredness in his body having vaporized into a near-seething anger. How could Inuyasha simply sneak off into the night without telling him, and then stay out well into the day?! Not only was it insulting and rude, it made the blonde question the hanyou's motives for having the well's connection changed to the 21st century. Surely he wouldn't have gone sniffing around for Kagome… He had given up on her _years_ ago… hadn't he?

Inuyasha walked through his home to the back where his mate was located, taking his time to reach the tired shinobi.

"Hey, kid… sorry I'm so late." The hanyou peeked through the back door, meeting a red-eyed, exhausted glare. "So…. you're mad at me…. Want me to make breakfast?"

"I already ate," the other man snapped, rising to his feet and folding his arms across his bare chest having not bothered to dress himself that morning. "I ate when I got up this morning, after you snuck out without telling me un." He narrowed his eyes and stared hard at the half-breed's face as if by glaring him he could make Inuyasha feel how angry he was.

"Ok, I know you're mad, but I just… I couldn't sleep."

"Whatever un, you could have woken me up… you didn't have to be gone all night un."

"No, I'm not gonna wake you up cause I can't sleep… I just went for a walk. Had to clear my head and think about stuff." Inuyasha knew Deidara was already mad at him for leaving unannounced. By telling him where he'd gone... it would only make things worse. He'd wait until he'd cooled things down to let him know how his old friend was doing. "Come on kid… please don't be mad."

The blonde tilted his head to the side as if skeptically sizing his partner up, wishing that somehow he had the fine-tuned senses Inuyasha did so that perhaps he could sniff the other man over for evidence of where he'd been. Still the ninja pursed his lips, not buying into his lover's alibi.

"Oh, and you had to take a walk that lasted for hours un? In the time you've been gone you could have hiked up Kouga's mountain, had tea with the flea-bag and come back un. Why wouldn't you tell me where you were going? You could have left a note if you didn't want to wake me but for Kami's sake why were you gone so long un?!"

"Look, I just walked and walked… I wasn't thinking of where I was going…. Plus I kinda ran. I feel better when I'm running, you know that."

"Alright, but how far did you go un?"

The mutt's ears quickly flipped down, the acidity in his lover's voice making him cringe.

"I... kinda lost track after the third village."

"You ran past three villages!? They're spaced like hundreds of miles away un!"

"I know I know… but I just kept running until I heard the birds wake up, then I realized how far I went. So I turned around and ran back home." Inuyasha gave a sheepish smile, hoping the lie was solid enough to get by. "You know me, Dei… I'm dumb and lose track of time."

"You _are_ dumb un." Deidara grumbled back, some of the bite fading from his voice but that's not to say he sounded pleased. He reached out and took a hold of the hanyou's shoulders and shook him gently so as to convey his frustration. "Next time I want you to write me a note if you need to step out and don't want to wake me, okay un? You know I worry more about you than I do myself, you can't slip out like that and not expect me to automatically start assuming the worst un."

The hanyou sighed and wrapped his arms around the other, knowing for the moment he was in the clear.

"Alright, I'll write you a note. I'm sorry." He looked down at the blonde and leaned in, planting a firm, reassuring kiss. Unfortunately he hiss half way through and leaned back, his face screwed in pain. "Ssssss… ow."

Deidara couldn't help but smirk, taking tender fingers and sweeping his knuckles over the black bruise under the silver-hair's eye. Inuyasha prepared to cringe, but as the motion was carried out he relaxed, then thanked his love with another peck, softer and placed on his collarbone.

The younger man blinked slowly, the tiniest sliver of a smile breaking across his lips while his fingers found their way underneath Inuyasha's chin. He drew his lover's face up, looked him in the eyes for a moment, then leaned close to just barely touch his lips to the half demon's wounded jaw. The artist was careful not to aggravate the contused flesh, not wanting to hurt his partner, only to show he was forgiven for the mistake.

Inuyasha quickly wrapped his hand around the fingers holding his face, rubbing them tenderly between his own. He continued the kiss, giving it the look of one of their familiar passion filled make-outs but with less force behind it. The hanyou's jaw worked against his mate's, and Deidara willingly let him conduct, not wanting to push against his tender cheekbone. Making his way down, the hybrid licked and kissed his way along the blonde's jaw until he nosed his jugular.

"So you've eaten already, huh?"

"Yes… I didn't know what else to do while I waited un."

"Well," the elder purred into his man's throat, "I'm starving."

Deidara snorted, a smile now clear on his lips as he peeked down at the other man from the corner of his eye. All the while the ninja's fingers began to wind their ways through Inuyasha's silver tresses, picking their ways around the tangles to smooth through his lover's mane.

"Well that's your fault for being so late back to the house un," he replied, his voice in a low but humorous rumble. "Of course if you like, I'm sure there's plenty of rabbit left… maybe a little sake to wash it down with un?" The ninja lowered his eyes coyly and petted the back of his mate's head "… or maybe you'd prefer a little sausage and milk un?"

With an open invitation, Inuyasha laughed and slide his hands under Deidara's rear, pulling him up until his feet were lifted from the deck. The hanyou was pleased as the younger man laughed happily, all the while pleading for Inuyasha to release him or at least put him down. But instead, he toed the shojis open until their room was open, their bed messy with scattered, inviting sheets and soft pillows. Clear of any other distractions or obstacles, the half-breed dumped his lover onto the futon, letting his body bounce before laying himself over top. He growled playfully and shook his head, further burying his face into Deidara's nooks and crannies until he had the man laughing.

The blonde man had to resist the urge to fist his hands in the other man's hair and pull his head up from where he had begun to meticulously lick his way up and down the shinobi's abdominals. Deidara grinned and chuckled, finally gripping the half demon's robed shoulders and pushing him back with a stern smile.

"Inu-kun… stop teasing un… and get rid of these robes." The artist tucked his thumbs underneath Inuyasha's robes, and with some sudden sense of urgency, Deidara reached down and with delicate, careful motion, and began to untie the knots keeping Inuyasha's robes wrapped around him. His fingers fumbled with the offending garment and he cursed whoever had designed a haori with so many layers to it.

Leaning his waist closer, the elder helped Deidara with the knots by using his weight to pull. The blood colored cloth fell apart and slipped delicately off his shoulders and down his back, leaving his cream colored robe, untied as usual. The hanyou's bangs dangled from his face and tickled Deidara's nose, making him squint in amusement. It had only been a few days since they had been so intimate, but Inuyasha's body still pulled with want. His knees moved in closer, rubbing up on the young artist's hips.

Deidara made quick work of pealing the remainder of the robes off his lover's well-toned chest. He discarded the thick red material and undershirt less than gracefully but smirked seductively as his hands stayed on Inuyasha's chest. Deidara felt his lover's heart beating with excitement, knowing his own heart was fluttering at a faster pace as well. The tongue slid out of his right hand, giving a tentative lick that asked unneeded permission. The silver-hair looked glassy-eyed to his love, not knowing his intentions. But his mind was foggy and it seemed that his body was set to pre-written directions, and his head dipped to the blonde's chest.

The elder slid his tongue from the visible top abdominal towards where the nipple on his left side should be. Instead, a mouth with scary looking teeth sat, giving the hanyou a wicked grin. With demon skills, Inuyasha wound his tongue in with the chest-mouth's, trying to stifle a moan.

With an unexpected flash of aggression, Deidara lunged forward with the muscle inside the mouth on his chest. With a great slurping sound the full tongue extended, a good ten inches, and forced itself into Inuyasha's waiting maw. The silver hair was taken off guard as the massive tongue filled his entire mouth with plenty more to spare. The half-demon held his breath and took the slippery muscle, folding his fingers innocently under the artist's waistband. Deidara "Ku-Ku"ed evilly at the empowerment he had over the half demon, but it quickly was silenced as he felt his boxers being slowly pulled over his hips.

Deidara's chest tongue beat its retreat, but there was a distinct purposefulness to its movements, even as the tip dragged down from the corner of Inuyasha's mouth, leaving a hot trail of saliva dripping from the half demon's jaws. The blonde felt his undershorts slide still lower and he laid back to let the hanyou finish off the last of his clothing. The shinobi felt the brush of his lover's hand graze over his hardening member by accident, but it was enough to send a quiet moan from his lips.

"Well that was stupid of me..." Inuyasha cooed.

He kissed the large lips before abandoning the thought of wrestling with it again. He moved on, and low and behold, one of his favorite sights stood erect before him, beckoning him. It was so hard to resist, but the elder tilted his face up, looking dead center at Deidara. The ninja's brow was creased in an expression of need, and the hanyou just sat there.

The artist felt the chill of the air engulf his hot erection and his thighs tensed. He panted with his eyes closed, bracing for the pleasure of his lover's touch, but it did not come. Deidara cracked one eye to see the elder sitting back and smirking at him, as if waiting for something.

"P-please... Inuyasha," the blonde murmured dryly. Smiling, the half-breed nuzzled the thick member, his lover needn't say more; he understood.

"I don't feel like beating around the bush today. Do you want me to go down on you, or you want it up the ass?"

A face of pure shamelessness startled the blonde, who stammered at his answer. Deidara's breath caught in his throat with the touch and he had to swallow hard in order to regain his ability to breath. Determined to maintain his last scrap of composure, the blonde gave his lover a weak smirk.

"Surprise me un..." he answered.

There was a brief pause as the half demon decided. After careful thought, he launched himself to lie mirroring the man underneath, and pushed his nose atop the other's.

"Flip over," he growled and the silver hair spread his legs and arms on either side to allow for moving room.

Deidara craned his neck up to nuzzle his lover's cheek before rolling over obediently. The shinobi let his lower body relax and spread his legs beneath the hanyou in a V of smooth skin and lean muscle. Inuyasha moved himself lower on his mate to hover over his smooth, round ass, and gently placed his palms over each cheek, pulling them apart slowly.

The object of his many fantasies laid an inch from his nose, and the scent from his sweating skin made his own shaft harden. His curled his lips and spat into his palm, providing enough saliva to use as lubricant for his fingers. The wanton hanyou sat up and careful not to cut his love, gently pushed a middle finger into his mate's rectum.

Deidara took in a quick breath. It hadn't been too long since their last time, but he had missed the feeling of his lover's presence inside him. The blonde fidgeted slightly, unable to get comfortable. Drawing his knees in closer, he slowly raised his ass, allowing time for his lover to adjust within him, until he was kneeling.

The elder man sighed happily at the pleasure filled murmurs he heard slipping through the artist's teeth. He pulled his finger in and out rhythmically, enticing his lover to move his hips along with his hand. After some time, he licked around his finger and inserted another, causing his mate to cry out. The claw had scratched a bit of the wall upon its entry, but Inuyasha was too immersed with pleasuring Deidara to fully care about it. The younger man panted heavily, unable to control his own breathing for the pleasure that was being inflicted on him.

_If only I could find the right angle,_ the half-demon thought to himself, as his fingers searching his lover's insides for his prostate.

Suddenly Deidara let out a long, pleasure laced moan and leaned back, pressing himself as far as possible onto the hanyou's fingers. Inuyasha hummed deeply and went to place another finger inside, only to be grabbed on his free wrist viciously by the younger male.

"Stop it, Inu-kun. You know what I want un."

The artist had bent his head back and had a look of desperation. Inuyasha knew he had to, but without properly stretching out his rectum, he was afraid it would be too painful for him to take. But the lips on the younger grasping hand kisses softly on his wrist, and a soft whine finally settled it.

Too fast for his own good, the hanyou ripped out his fingers and mounted his mate. Without re-lubing, he thrust his head deep inside, and his ears feasted on the piercing cry ripped from the blonde's lungs. Inuyasha paused to allow the blonde time to adjust.

"Go ahead," Deidara growled gruffly under his breath.

Hot and strained, the elder huffed and leaned close to his lover's body. With only half his strength he thrust, rocking him and Deidara. The blonde stifled a grunt and sighed after achieving some type of comfort.

"Come on, Inuyasha un."

The hanyou continued pushing roughly in and out, but still staying inside. Inuyasha grunted and growled with effort, and with restraint, not wanting to harm the delicate, human body beneath him. After a few minutes of passionate murmuring and moaning, he became used to the position and craved a new one. So without announcing it to his mate, he placed his knees on top Deidara's, and pulled back, making both bodies push against the bed. The silver hair rocked the two bodies roughly in perfect rhythm, sending moans and gasps from his mate.

Sweat beaded on the artist's brow, each breath he took was in time with Inuyasha's thrusts and carried its own small moan. Each time they rocked together Deidara could feel the sparks of bliss shooting down his every nerve. It was enough to drive him crazy, setting his senses afire and emptying his mind of everything but the moment. It was ecstasy in its raw, natural from.

The half demon, however, couldn't concentrate on how wonderful it felt to have the ninja's body around him, his scent, his sound, his taste in his mouth. No, he was too wrapped up in his self-control, or his faltering lack thereof.

His body wanted more, he wanted to satisfy all senses at once, but that couldn't be achieved without harming the young man further. His mouth grew dry and he bit his lip until it bled, using all his strength to hold back. The soft moans filled his ears, but it was too slight to fill his urge. The blood in his mouth was his own, and unacceptable, and he was as deep inside as he could go, and yet there was still exposed shaft that wasn't being touched.

It had to be enough, he had to make it enough...

With every thrust Deidara could feel himself reaching his limit, he felt the pleasure building up inside him and his moans grew louder and louder, ringing in Inuyasha's sensitive ears.

"I-Inu! Inu-kun… oh God un!" the artist panted.

It was all too much.

"Oh Inuyasha!"

The blondes' voice filled the air and rung in the hanyou's pointed ears until it was the only sound. Holding himself still inside his trembling love, Inuyasha felt the shinobi's rectum clamp around his hard shaft and he tried hard to further himself, wanting so badly to come with him. But all to no effect, he held himself still while the younger calmed himself. It ate at him from the inside of his chest out that he could no longer thrust, no longer push himself closer to sweet release and he strained his body to statue-like stillness, while fighting the lust pulsing through his member.

Deidara waited expectantly for his lover's release to follow, but when it didn't come, the younger man felt a qualm of regret drag his heart down.

"One... more..." The artist panted. "Just... one more un." It was the least he could think of to help the man he loved. The ninja felt as if the guilt would eat him up inside if he didn't…

Not quite hearing, Inuyasha leaned his head carefully to Deidara's ear and struggled to whisper.

"You... o-ok? I didn't hurt you d-did I?" He shook from restraint and he needed something, anything to help release...

"I'm fine un... no... Better than fine... un... you're the best Inu-kun." The blonde shook his head to clear it of the exhaustion that all too commonly follows release.

There was a long pause before Deidara spoke up again.

"Is..." he glanced back at Inuyasha. "Is there anything I can do for _you_ un?" His eyes reflected a regretful guilt. "Anything special I can do?"

The elder grunted, hauling himself to hover.

"I don't..." He stopped and looked to the door, which was silent.

"What is it un?" Deidara whispered. "What do you need?"

The hanyou growled and nosed his mate's spine.

"Just a little more..."

The shinobi smiled at the other man over his shoulder.

"Anything for you Inu-kun." With that the blonde spread his legs just a bit wider, making sure he was perfectly comfortable.

Inuyasha smiled weakly and steadied his knees again, pulling his cock halfway out. Deidara squeaked and braced for another round of thrusts. The elder male grasped the uke's shoulders and pushed in, letting the heat reignite. He rocked harder, moving the bed lightly, and resumed listening to Deidara's rhythmic moans.

His mate made certain to let the half demon hear the pleasure in each moan as their bodies rocked in perfect unison. Although the shinobi was still feeling the tiredness of release, he could only enjoy the present.

The silver-haired man's pleasure built up enough to cause a grunt and growl from his chest, informing his mate of his status.

"Dei, it won't b-be long... I, oh God..."

Deidara was only able to squeeze a few words in between gasps of excitement and moans.

"Come on, un!"

Inuyasha was rising to his boiling point, and if it wasn't for his demon blood, he's searing passion would have deafened him from the opening front shoji. He froze in his thrust, making Deidara look in the direction of his lover's fear.

"W-wha is-" but he was cut off before a dark haired woman stepped through the door way.

"**Inuyasha! I'm**_**here**_!"

The bed was of full view of the doorway, and everything stood still... Except Inuyasha, who uncontrollably came with a strange mixture of a dominate growl and an embarrassed whine.

Deidara was so completely petrified that he barely felt his lover's release; he couldn't even feel the beating of his own heart. The blonde was mortified. Had he been able to move, he would have scrambled to cover himself, but his body wouldn't work for him. He'd been walked in on before, but NEVER by a woman; it was one of the most embarrassing experiences the blonde had had in his life.

"Should... Should I leave...?" the intruder stammered. She had quickly retreated behind the screen, but occasionally peeked for sanction of her presence.

Inuyasha was numb, and nothing was going on in his upstairs. Deidara finally puffed up like a pissed cat, cerulean eyes smoldering with explosive fury, and howled.

**"GET THE FUCK OUT YOU PERVERTED BITCH UN!" **

She jumped and ran out, leaving silence behind her. With renewed anger, Deidara turned to glare over his shoulder at Inuyasha and shouted at him.

"**WHO THE **_**FUCK**_** WAS **_**THAT**_** HM!? **GOING FOR A **WALK** UN?! MY ASS!" Words could not contain the fury that burned in those blue eyes. With nothing to say, Inuyasha lay there while Deidara unloaded deserved wrath without any comment. After the ninja ran out of breath, he shouted. "WELL?!"

Incased in guilt and fear, Inuyasha pulled out, making the younger man grunt. The elder stood and grabbed his clothes, putting them on as he made his way to the door.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE _YOU_ GOING UN?!" the blonde shouted, rage causing his voice to shake.

Inuyasha paused and looked over his shoulder.

"I have to talk to her. I'll be back." And with that he stepped out of view.

Deidara let loose a stream of curses as has never been heard by the ears of man or half demon as he hurled a conveniently placed potted plant at the bedroom shoji as it shut behind the silver hanyou.

The sun was lower in the sky, not that anyone could see it through the thick clouds. Inuyasha stepped carefully up his walkway and paused at the front shoji. He sighed heavily and knocked lightly on the frame of the fragile panel.

"Hey Dei... you home?"

There was no answer, but the hanyou's sensitive nose could still pick up an odd mixture of scents coming from the house. There was firstly the overwhelming smell of a wood fire, accompanied with the mouthwatering aroma of hot soup. But there was another, fainter scent. Inuyasha could just recognize it at the smell of fresh clay, but he couldn't determine which kind it was.

An overwhelming sense of "_Oh shit_" pushed him pass the entrance and into the open hall, making him tumble through the next entrance and furniture to the kitchen.

His first sight was Deidara seated at the kitchen table with a bowl of udon placed in front of him. The blonde was holding a few noodles between expertly sculpted clay chopsticks and paid no attention to the half demon as he entered the room. The scent of burnt wood came from the fire in the small stone oven the blonde had used to cook the soup. Inuyasha felt an overwhelming sense of relief aside from the cold shoulder he was receiving from the blonde.

Done with over-panicking, the half demon sat quietly across from Deidara, not wanting to bring any attention to himself. The artist sat, angrily slurping noodles and after what seemed like an eternity and a half, he was through. With no word the artist cleared his dishes and washed them, not paying any mind to the silver-hair, who had slumped forward and placed his chin on the table. Finished, he continued on to rest himself in the next room on the couch wedged in the odd corner near the wall.

There was a slithering noise, like the underbelly of some large reptile being dragged across the floor, and without warning, a massive clay centipede crawled from where it had been curled beneath the table and followed its creator. Inuyasha jumped out of his seat as its clay feet walked over his toes. He waited till the massive head cleared the doorway, then proceeded to follow its path. The centipede was at LEAST 20 feet in length, made of elliptical body segments each a foot in width. It was equipped with a set of sharp teeth, two massive pincers and a stinger-like barb on the end of its tail. It gave a scornful hiss in the direction of the hanyou as it passed, sounding like a large release of steam. Deidara lay back, crossing his legs comfortably and pulling a small wad of clay from his pocket and beginning to knead it nonchalantly.

Inuyasha's eyes grew wide and he reached for the hilt of his sword, but stopped as the centipede hissed again. The man dropped his hand, and the young shinobi patted the clay creature, rewarding it for its intimidation.

"Are we really going to do this Dei? Come on, I just-"

HISS! Inuyasha glared at the grayish monster, who somehow twisted its pincer mouth in to what looked like a sneer.

"Don't make me go all demon on your ass," Inuyasha growled at the centipede. Deidara didn't look up from his absent sculpting, but spoke in a very off hand manner.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. See, my little friend here is made of a special kind of explosive clay and sealed with chakra, if that seal is broken by, say your claws, the entire creature will explode... and you wouldn't anyone to get hurt, would you?" Deidara's hand stroked the centipede's head as if the beast were a treasured pet.

With aloud huff, the hanyou dropped his arms and sat cross legged on the floor.

"Fine... what do you want me to say? 'I'm an idiot'? Because I've said that before. 'I don't deserve you'? 'Cause I've said that before too! What do you want, Dei?! I can't make anything better if I don't know what to do!"

"I don't need your apologies or self-degradation in the name of love un," the blonde still refused to look at Inuyasha. "I want an explanation un. You know damn well what of." The centipede let out a hiss that almost sounded like a snigger and gave the hanyou a sneering look

Backed into a corner, the truth fell from his lips softly, inaudible.

"What was that?!" Dei asked, his voice dripping in accusation.

"... I didn't think she'd come here. I... went to see how she was... on the other side of the well. She thought... she'd surprise... me. _Us_."

Deidara folded the bit of clay between his fingers, giving the small model shape, keeping his cold appearance perfectly intact.

"And would you care to explain who SHE is? and why SHE thought she was welcome in this house?"

The centipede folded its many legs as if settling down to listen to a good story, giving it the vague appearance of a hideous guard dog.

"_She's_ Kagome, stupid, like I've told you already. Before you, there was her and before her there was Kikyo..." He paused and caught himself. "Not like that! Just that we-they- I mean... Gah!" Inuyasha held his head and awaited the promised lashing out from the blonde, or possibly and attack from his new pet monster.

Deidara gritted his teeth. The words made his stomach churn, and the blonde felt utterly expendable; like whenever the hanyou fell out of love with him, there would always be a replacement. But he forced himself to be understanding.

He clenched his fists, squashing his sculpture slightly and deforming it. The beast let out a furious, monstrous hiss as it sprang to its spindly feet. It reared up, balancing on half its body, towering a good ten feet in the air. It glared furiously at Inuyasha as if the half demon had insulted it and not its master. But Deidara reached a hand out, patting the creature on the back of one of its body sections. This calmed the beast enough to lower it to the floor, but it continued to glower at Inuyasha. Giving a quick middle finger to the beast, Inuyasha grew angry, which in retrospect was stupid.

"What, I can't have past loves?! Y-you….. God, you f-fucking _hypocrite_!" The room fell silent, and the hanyou froze with panic. "Dei I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

The sculpture was completely crushed in the shinobi's fist. With a screech of rage the centipede lunged itself at the half demon, fangs bared and pincers snapping. It was like a vicious clay train run off the tracks and hell bent on killing the offending hanyou.

Inuyasha was about to raise his claws to destroy the monster but remembered Deidara's warning and put up his arm as defense. But the attack never hit, not fully at least. Inuyasha was hit with a lifeless clay centipede. Deidara had dispelled his jutsu just before the creature had struck.

Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief before he realized he was nowhere near out of the woods yet. Deidara discarded his lump of clay and turned away, looking out the opened shoji to the light rain outside.

"I'm sorry un..."

Pushing his way out to the huge pile of clay, the half-demon made his way over to his glum lover.

"I didn't mean it. I can't... I don't know what to say to make this better..." In a desperate attempt, Inuyasha drew his arms around the sturdy body in front of him and waited for some type of answer; acceptance or rejection.

Deidara was still upset, and wished he could let it go, but he also felt a slight sense of betrayal. He sighed and firmly patted the other man's arm reassuringly.

"I know un... and I love you too..." he paused and added. He still didn't look at the silver hair. "We both know you fucked up this time..." There was a rumble of thunder as the rain outside picked up. "I just want to know why..."

Inuyasha let his arms drop.

"How exactly is this my fault?"

Deidara turned to look at the half-demon in utter astonishment and thumped him in the forehead with an open palm.

"You sneak off in the middle of the night to see some woman you used to love, she shows up while we're in the middle of SEX and you ask how it's _YOUR_ fault?" The blondes' voice was more shocked as to Inuyasha's stupidity than angry, and he gave his lover's forehead a quick smack with his open palm. The impact smarted the teeth in his hand, and he swiped the tongue across them quickly. "Has anyone ever told you that you have a very thick scull... in more ways than one un?" He tried to bite back a slight smile, but failed.

Inuyasha bit his lip, and tried to nurse younger man's palm, but the ninja pulled it away and turned his back.

Putting up his hands defensively, the half-breed stated, "I didn't know she was coming, ok? It was her idea, not mine. I didn't see her for three years, and I wanted to see how she was doing. Nothing happened, I swear." He slowly lowered his hands and leaned carefully of Deidara's shoulder. "Now can I kiss it and make it all better?"

"How old, exactly do you think I _am_ un? Three?!" But Inuyasha folded his ears back, giving his mate a soft, pitiable, apologetic look. Reluctantly gave a short nod, but only gave the elder time to give his lips a quick peck before he leaned away.

"I still don't see why you had to sneak off in the middle of the night without telling me to do _nothing_ with this Kagome girl un." Deidara muttered.

Inuyasha sighed.

"I figured you wouldn't understand, and it was like two hours after midnight... I didn't want to wake you." And with that, the hanyou leaned in to try and give his lover another smooch. Deidara's visible eye shot Inuyasha a warning glance.

"Fine fine..." he said with justified irritation, "but you're still on thin ice un..."

The elder pouted slightly, and conceded, leaning back and folding his hands across his lap.

"What can I do to make this better?"

Deidara frowned slightly and closed his eyes, trying to look as firm and unshakable as he could.

"Nothing intimate, if that's what you're thinking! I've had more than enough for one day un."

"Oh come on, you know that's not what I meant," the elder growled playfully. "Is there anything you want me to do that will make you happy?"

Deidara leaned back and closed his eyes, feeling powerful, and sarcastic; Inuyasha deserved to be beaten at this game.

"I could really go for some chocolate ice cream un." Folding his arms, the blonde smirked, thinking he'd won by requesting something completely unobtainable. Inuyasha bounced a bit as the upper part of his body went slack.

"But Dei... the only person I know who can get me ice cream for you... is…. _Kagome_." Deidara growled a bit and put his hands behind his head as his brows furrowed with irritation; this hadn't been his intention, and yet he found himself curious – if only for the sanctity of confronting the woman himself.

"Hmmm, there's always a catch, isn't there un?"

The worried sliver hair laughed weakly and attempted to rub the younger man's shoulders.

"Do you still want it? If I leave now I can still catch her..."

Deidara considered it for a moment, and then smirked.

"Yeah un... but on one condition..."

Inuyasha's ears perked up.

"You take me with you to get it un." The ninja cracked another victorious grin, while the other man sighed in defeat.

"You aren't going to kill her if I take you to see her, right?"

The blonde fluffed Inuyasha's bangs, giving him a falsely playful smile.

"That all depends on how good the ice cream is un."


End file.
